Rite of Passage in the Western Culture Research Paper

Rite of Passage in the Western Culture - Research Paper ExampleAt every fundamental point of a somebodys life, a rite of passage helps in the transition from one phase to another.The concept of rite of passage has appealed to publicy a(prenominal) sociologist and anthropologists such as Arnold van Gennep who formed the term rite of passage and gave the different ceremonies practised in different pietys and societies, a common word. Gennep further categorize the three phases in three phases, namely separation, transition and incorporation. Gennep through studying the different ceremonies in different religions and societies had been able to find a common scope in all these ceremonies by studying the underlying concept in these rites of passage.Rite of passage in different races, religions and societies differ but they usually lionise the same events in an individuals life but in different ways. Similarly, the rite of passage of the west differs from that of the east and the rit e of passage of Christianity differs from that of Islam. In this paper, we attempt to analyze the concept behind the rite of passage and the western ways of conducting rites of passage.Rite of passage can be likened to Shakespeares Seven ages of man, where a man changes drastically from one stage of another. From the time an individual is born to the time when he is buried, the rite of passage helps him in a placid movement from one transition to another. According to Victor Turner, rites of passage can be divided into two broad categories, those that accompany the passage of a person from one social status to another and (those that) mark recognized points in the passage of time, such as new year, new moon, Passover and so forth (Klingbeil, 2007). so rites of passage are both religious and social.Religious rite of passage includes the rituals that are carried forward from endless times and differ in each religion to a certain extent. One can find similarities between thereligious rites of passage of different religions in the way that they celebrate the same events.