Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual

by Tom F. Driver

In Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual, Tom F. Driver illuminates the making of ritual by removing it from its churchly wrappings and presenting it as something raw, basic, and central to all living beings. He examines the varied ways humans use ritual to give order to their lives, to deepen feelings of communal belonging, and to transform the status quo. Driver looks closely at how ritual, viewed as creative performance, is essential to religion and to the movement from bondage to freedom, whether in society or the individual. His analyses use examples drawn from a wide variety of cultures and religions -- Haiti, Korea, South Africa, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, and more, in addition to the author's own North American Protestantism. The result is an accessible and engaging discussion, ideal for introductions to religion, the psychology of religion, the sociology of religion, and studies in ritual and liturgy. Many general readers also will find the book fascinating because it makes explicit so many unspoken feelings about the human longing for rituals that 'work,' combining meaning with power.

Genres: Christianity

292 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 1997

Reviews

[Kirsten Amann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. I read this for class and as a textbook I found it informative and interesting. It brought me new perspectives in anthropology and introduced me to the world of rites(much larger than I could possibly imagine). Where this fails is in the writing. When I say it is verbose I mean it. As a student with many other readings on my plate I didn't have the time or the energy to enjoy much of what Driver wrote. The central points were great for studying anthropology, I just think they could have been made in fewer words.

[David Bjorlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many good points, but both ritually and liturgically naive.

[Larry Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I understand Tom Driver’s point in “Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual” that all humans engage in ritual and religious ritual, done properly, is transformative, and therefore essential, whether that ritual be a Requiem Mass or a baptism by immersion in the ocean, his long involved discussions of ritual in animals and in Haitians practicing Voodoo left me with a deflated sense of the sacredness of ritual, which, I think was the exact opposite of what he was trying to communicate. The author seemed determined to let all the supernatural air out of rituals.