The Importance of Rites of Passage to a Humanist, Questions and Answers

The stories “The Medicine Bag” and “Apache Girls Rite of Passage” both explain the important traditions that transition a child to adulthood. In “The Medicine Bag” a young boy named Martin is passed down an important family heirloom that represents the change from a boy to a man. In “Apache Girls Rite of Passage” a documentary is made about an important ritual that Apache girls participate in to change from a girl to a woman. In both passages there are similarities and differences between the Rite of Passage. There are also advantages and disadvantages of presenting a story in text or in a video.

Although humanism has several different meanings, especially for those who consider themselves humanists, this definition in my opinion best explains humanism as it is applied in our class. In a journal entry written by Robert L Sinsheimer, titled “Humanism and Science”, he explains that humanists are concerned with

The Rite of Passage is about young females who file their teeth down into points. This ritual is done to show their soul, and to beautify yourself. The teeth sharpening is done in Indonesia specifically to the Mentawai tribe, to serve everlasting life, and to purify your soul.

Rituals play a significant role in all cultures. A ritual ‘is the practice or embodiment of beliefs expressed in structured action or prescribed procedures that often link to the sacred.’ Rituals are created by taking events from everyday life and giving them some sort of symbolic meaning. As one of the founding concepts of our discipline, ritual has long been a cornerstone of anthropological thought: from the works of Emile Durkheim through Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner and Terry Lovat. Within this presentation I will be outlining the similarities and differences between Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation, and I will also explain the impact which the ritual has on the individual and society

Originally developed by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep in the early 20th century in his book Rites de Passage, the term liminality refers to the concept in which participants are in the threshold stage of disorientation and suspension from the previous social norm that they were used to. When an individual goes through a rite of passage—also coined by van Gennep—he is cut off from his “old life” and is born again into a new person. However, before he can fully become a new person and finish his rite of passage, he is suspended in a liminal stage that bridges the old self with the newly acknowledged self. In other words, he is in a stage of disorientation and amorphous identity. Found throughout all

The main characters Toundi from Houseboy and Firdaus from Woman at Point Zero were unable to complete their rites of passage. It is evident from the begin of both novels that neither character would be reincorporated into society due to their incapability to “follow the rules” that were set for them as second-class citizens. In Firdaus’ case, women lived in a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the submissive gender. However, she demonstrates the need for women to take charge of their lives and not live under the power of men. Toundi, on the other hand, attempts to encounter a life filled with advancement and improvements from the Whites, however soon realizes that the French have no intention of allowing Black people to

Watching the news is a rite of passage for any newly crowned adult. It’s a sign to you and everyone you know that you’re a grown up god dammit, you keep up with what’s going on in the world. Because of the news you can name like 75% of the presidential candidates, you’re aware of every tragedy going on overseas, and each day at work you get to ask someone if they heard about the *insert feel good story here* that you saw the previous night. The news is making you such a well-rounded and mature human being.

1 According to Google Dictionary phrase "rite of passage" means a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Sharon Olds gave her poems title "Rite of Passage" because in this poem she describes the state of adolescence and the rites of passage that lead to adulthood. Olds wrote about young boys waiting to be men. The spiker, who is the birthday boy's mother, describing the veiled adults in the children that arrive to her son’s party, "as the guests arrive at my son's party." The author wrote, "short men, men in a first grade," Olds chose "first grade" as a symbol of growing children because when child goes to first grade he or she becomes little independent from parents,

A recent rite of passage I went through was graduating from nursing school and becoming a RN. To complete this rite of passage I had to complete all the pre-requisites for nursing school which took me 4 years. Then I did the nursing program which was 2 years. To celebrate finishing the nursing program I attended a pinning ceremony which is a ritual where the nursing graduates get a pin that represents the completion of the education required to sit for the nursing boards. This pinning ceremony was more important than walking at graduation. The majority of my classes did not attend the graduation ceremony but all attended the pinning. Once I took the nursing license test I got a card that says registered nurse. I was finally able to call myself

The rite of passage that is most significant to me is the one in “The Electric Bugaloo”.I like the point of the story. Being Confident on yourself. I like it because of the meaning is significant to me.

Statistics show that approximately 3.3 million of American citizens graduated high school this past year, exemplifying how common the rite of passage really is (“Fast Facts”). The large number of students that graduated also shows that in America we put strong values on education. In 2014, when I was 18, I joined the statistics as being a citizen of the United States that graduated High school and earned my diploma. Therefore, I participated in the ceremony of highs school graduation, which took place at Stabler Arena. In attendance for the ceremony were fellow graduates, parents of graduates, and a select group of teachers and other administration from the school. High school graduation is classified as a rite to adulthood because it signified

Sharon Olds, born 1942, the author of the dark poem, Rite of Passage which is a poem describing a mother observing her first grade sons birthday party. Given the time Sharon Olds would have been growing up, she was born three years before the Holocaust ended, she got to witness first-hand the world repairing itself after the DISASTER , not just read about it, which for me personally adds a new level of disturbance to the text. She wrote in a way that is brutally honest and it talks about a topic that not everyone can stomach. It hit one of the key flaws of humans, we are constantly trying to one up each other, and lose our innocence and that in itself is tragic. In the poem it is children, ages six and seven.

Embedded in my psyche as a child was the fact that college was my only option after high school. This parental sentiment was synonymous with a phrase as simple as “tie your shoes.” For me, high school graduation would be a standard occurrence, but my college graduation would be celebrated. The college I would attend required thoughtful consideration because it will be my rite of passage. When I dreamt of my intended college, I knew it would be set in a beautiful city, bustling with energy, and full of consciously creative people. I didn’t know if my university campus would be urban or suburban, but I knew it would spark excitement, fulfill my need to connect with a global community, and offer several opportunities to propel me to the top of

Humanists celebrated the mind, beauty, power, and enormous potential of human beings. They believed that people were able to experiance god directly and should have a personal, emotional relationship to their faith. God had made the world but humans were able to share in his glory by becoming

Without knowing it, we have all experienced humanism within out lives: working with counselors, psychologists and even teachers. Most of them want to help us find the good within ourselves. A teacher, when one was younger, tried to show one right from wrong; a counselor tries to help people work through problems, such as showing one that he/she is a person that is good. Even a friend can make a comment that makes one feel proud for something kind that one did. These are all humanistic approaches to life, perhaps not practiced all the time by these people, but practiced nonetheless.