What would a religion be without it’s rituals and rites?
Of course, we can (and probably all have) laughed at them in the past, no matter which religion they’re affiliated with, but something I have noticed over the years, especially with my formal training in both standard psychology as well as hypnotherapy and NLP (the validity of which I still toss around in my mind, but interesting nonetheless), is what appears to be a natural human inclination towards ritualistic behavior.
People and groups engage in rituals which bring them closer together, bring, on the whole, positive psychological benefits to those involved, and solidify a sense of purpose in one’s life. Given this, I think it is safe to say that provided this dynamic is not used to harm or abuse others, they are a net positive, and depending on what one believes insofar as spirituality is concerned, may or may not actually mean something beyond the scope of just the individuals involved.
While nothing has been codified yet, it is something that I am working on, and something that I think should be had.
I read something once where someone was describing why they converted to Judaism. They specifically said they were drawn in by the rituals. Things like: Keeping two sets of plates for meat and dairy. Staying within the “eruv” wires around some cities on the Sabbath. They just loved the rituals.
I wonder if the draw is really the “rules” and structure that usually come with the rituals. I think most people crave structure, but many aren’t really capable of providing it for themselves, so they look for it from an outside source. Religion provides that. The military provides that. Special clubs/groups provide that. Political parties can even provide that. The ritual seems to add a sense of control to go with the belief structure of the organization.