What are rituals? How did rituals come to be? What are the different types of rituals and what part do they play in death? In this first episode, I explore some terms and ideas about the meaning of religion and ritual using theories by William Robertson Smith, James Frazer, Émile Durkheim, Mircea Eliade, and Anthony F. C. Wallace.

References:

• “Anthropology.” Ritual & Types of Ritual Flashcards | Chegg.com
• Brenner, Erich. “Human Body Preservation - Old and New Techniques.” Journal of Anatomy, vol. 224, Issue 3, 2014, pp. 316-344.
• Chegwidden, Paula. "Wallace's Typology of Rituals." Sociology. Acadia University. Web. 16 Jan. 2017. [http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/soci/chegwidden/rop/ritualfolder/Wallace.html]
• Crossman, Ashley. “Ritual.” ThoughtCo, Aug 26, 2020.
• “Death Rituals, Ceremonies & Traditions around the World (and How the West Lost Loss).” Eterneva, 21 Dec. 2021, eterneva.com/blog/death-rituals/.
• Mayer, Robert G. Embalming: History, Theory, and Practice, 5th ed., McGraw Hill, 2012.
• McCutcheon, Russell T. “The Insider-Outsider Problem in The Study of Religion- A Reader.” Continuum, 1999.
• Pals, Daniel. “Nine Theories of Religion, 3rd ed.” Oxford University Press, 2015.
• Sacred Rituals, www.billstifler.org/myth/files/5D-052-ritual.htm.
• Thury, Eva M. and Margaret K. Devinney. Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.