The Role of Ritual in Religion Ritual plays an important role in every religion. Think about this:
ò Rituals help you to put aside your day-to-day concerns and focus your attention on God. ò Though God is invisible, rituals make God seem less distant and more accessible to you.
ò Rituals help to create and sustain a sense of community between the members of a religion. This is because they all come together to worship God in the same place, at the same time and in the same way.
ò Rituals create a sense of continuity between believers today and their ancestors who also took part in the same rituals long ago.
Anyone taking part in a ritual should do so with respect. Why? Because it helps to create the right atmosphere for worship.
Muslims worship in a mosque.
For example: Upon entering a church, Catholics are expected to trace the symbol of the cross with the right hand. Then they should genuflect (i.e. bend the right knee) toward the Blessed Sacrament (i.e. the Eucharist stored in the tabernacle) before sitting down.
They do these things to remind themselves that they have entered a sacred place and must now concentrate on God alone.
