Ritualization and Human Interiority

The word "ritual" evokes images of formalised social action, sometimes austere and minimalist, sometimes as exuberant pageantry. Ritual criticism has thus prominently taken the form of the interiorisation of aspects of rituals, insisting on the futility of outward show and the importance of inner authenticity. In this book, Clemens Cavallin argues that ritualisation and many forms of interiorisation are in fact interconnected processes providing ritual practice with a particular basic dynamism. At the same time, the turn to the interior, especially in its modern forms, when taking intentionality as its focus, can upset this balance and undermine the very foundation of ritual action.