Ritual and Meaning

By Ph.D. student Diana Rigtrup
Dept. of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Philosophy of religion has described religion as a perspective on life which has effects on the way in which life is lived and as a system of meaning and orientation, which makes it possible to live with the uncontrollable and meaningless in a controllable way. Psychology of religion has focused on the way religion can transform perspectives in a crisis situation. 
If the imaginings of the human mind has a decisive influence on the way human life is interpreted and lived, what then is the role of religion in a crisis situation?
Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of religion and religious rituals in crisis situations. I will focus on how creation of meaning takes place after a traumatic experience, and on how religion and religious rituals as systems of meaning and orientation influence the interpretation of critical life situations.
Rituals have from an early stage in human history been used as a way to create order in chaos. Prior theories have focused on the myth behind the ritual and its repetition in the performative act. But recent theories view rituals as non-intentional acts without symbolic reference. If ritual is viewed as a way of acting and reacting to the uncontrollable, how then is a religious ritual interpreted, when performed in a crisis situation? And does it function as a way of coping with a changed life situation?
Method
The project involves theoretical studies of philosophy of religion, psychology of religion and ritual-studies and a hermeneutical-phenomenological qualitative analysis.
Data are collected through participant observation and 2 semi-structured interviews at 3-monthly intervals with 25 parents, who have sick children and choose to baptize their child in Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen.
The project will examine the way in which pastoral care and the ritual of emergency baptism influences the parents’ understanding of their traumatic situation, focusing on two issues:
1) How do the parents cope existentially with the critical situation? Do they experience loss of meaning and what role does religion play in their understanding of their situation?
2) How do the parents experience and understand the ritual of emergency baptism in a crisis situation?