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Towards a sociology of ritual action
TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF RITUAL ACTION Robert J . Bocock Lecturer in Sociology, Brunel University Since Berger and Luckmann's work in sociology of knowledge and sociology of religion there has been a strong tendency for sociologists of religion to think that their sub-discipline will, and should, merge with sociology of knowledge, itself broadened and re-defined away from the marxist tradition.' All world-views and everyday `knowledge' comes under the purview of this imperialistic sociology, whether they contain a `transcendent' element or not .$ Sociology of religion as a separate subdiscipline is not viable on this view because it tries to define arbitrarily some world-views as especially `religious' . This type of world-view is less significant in modern industrial societies than other, more `secular', solutions to the problem of meaning . Sociologists, it is said, should turn their attention to `invisible religion', admittedly a difficult task because it is by definition not institutionalized.3 There are a number of confusions in this position, the main one being that sub-areas of sociology are compared with other sub-areas derived from a different schema of divisions of sociology . The traditional subareas of sociology-sociology of education, of law, of politics, of the arts, of the family, of science, of industry, of social stratification and of religioneach examined a major social institution or structural form . New subareas developed around levels of analysis different from that of the totalsociety level : for example community studies, and a sociology of organizations, and of small groups .4 These divisions were quite adequate for organizing empirical research and middle-range theory in sociology in the early days of the discipline's development in modern universities . They still are, in many ways, the best sub-divisions available, partly because they are readily understandable to non-sociologists, in that they use relatively concrete terms, rather than theoretical ones, and partly because considerable work has been done in them, and they are cumulatively organized . (Within sociology of religion, for example, there is a considerable, cumulative body of work stemming from Troeltsch's Church-sect-mysticism typology) . 5 Within this framework new sub-areas have developed reflecting minority perspectives within theoretical sociology . Sociology of knowledge in Europe was an area long-cultivated by scholars influenced by marxism, or by problems deriving from marxist theory (e .g . in Lukacs, Goldmann, Mannheim) . 6 More recently, a sociology of deviance has arisen, developed 11 4
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largely by sociologists of an ethnomethodological, social interactionist, or social phenomenological perspective . The proposal to subsume sociology of religion under sociology of knowledge has been made by marxists, such as N . Harris or L. Goldmann, because religion is a belief and value system, an ideology . 7 The Berger and Luckmann proposal is more concerned with construction of meaning and is more relativistic than that made from the marxist position . For marxism can itself be subsumed as a meaning-system which has to be socially maintained, rather like Buddhism or Catholicism, or whatever . Nevertheless, the proposal is similar . Not all of sociology of religion can be subsumed under sociology of knowledge, because the new sub-division `Berger and Luckmann style sociology of knowledge' is too wide and not itself embedded in an alternative complex breakdown of sociology . Hence sociologists can be forgiven for thinking of the new sub-discipline as imperialistic, for many phenomena other than religion could be seen as part of meaning-system construction and maintenance--certainly political ideologies and psychiatric movements, if not science too. Education, the arts, law and the mass media are all involved in constructing, maintaining or imposing definitions of reality and meaning by one group for, or upon, another group . Some more complex sub-divisions are necessary to prevent this inflationary aspect of the new formulation taking all in its wake . The key assumption, shared by marxists, neo-marxists and some phenomenologists, is that of a conception of man which is over-cognitive . Too much attention is paid to ideas, beliefs, value-formulations, not enough to actions, and emotions . 8 The errors which Dennis Wrong pointed out in the oversocialised conception of man reappear now in an over-verbal approach . 9 The body and its actions, states and feelings are eschewed . Words about people's words appear again and again . A threefold analytical breakdown is suggested here, which is derivative from Parsons and Shils, 10 viz . (a) ideas, myths and beliefs ; (b) values, both desirable and desired ; and (c) emotional states and cultural symbolizations of these . Sociology of knowledge should be seen as the sociological analysis of ideas and beliefs in any of the major institutional spheres-religion, politics, science (including social sciences), law, literature . A sociology of values would study what is held to be desirable in different ideologies and world-views, related to what groups actually do desire . Questionnaires investigating desirable values are not enough ; actions must be observed, either in the present, or historically . Problems of explanation in this sub-area would revolve around explaining why a group doesn't or does act on its articulated values." A sociology of emotion and the symbols and rituals surrounding emotions in groups, institutions, and whole societies would study these phenomena historically, comparatively and in contemporary societies . The division between sociology and anthropology collapses at this point . Certainly some scholars would, as individuals, specialise in pre-literate societies in various areas of the
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globe, but this work as a community cf scholars would be oriented to comparative work as far as possible (e .g . C. Levi-Strauss in Structural Anthropology) . 12 The sociology of religion is concerned with this area as much as with beliefs, values and ideas . In anthropology of religion this area has always been better developed because there are few, if any, books, but many ritual and aesthetic objects, and ritual actions, in the religion of some pre-literate societies . So we have the possibility of combining the institutional areas of sociology with these three possible analytical emphases . Different levels of social systems could be added . Any of the combinations could be studied at the level of a whole society ; or at the level of a community or city-area ; or at the level of organizations such as political parties, or trade-unions ; or at the small group level, as in gangs, families, therapy groups, etc . This way of seeing the subidivisions of sociology is developed with a view to showing the types of work which can be done, or have been done, in sociology of knowledge, of arts and religion . The sociology of art has been over-verbal in orientation, concentrating on novels, plays, poems, sometimes songs . It is least developed vis-a-vis the performing artstheatre, music, dance-in spite of some noble efforts ." What is to be done in these sociologies of religion and art if they are to avoid being made part of sociology of knowledge? Clearly, there are questions of belief of central importance for sociology, but the hold of a religion over groups can be as great because of its symbolic and ritual emotionality as for its cognitive solutions to the problem of meaning . This is true of many forms of art, and specific works of art . Consider, for example, dancing, both audiences watching ballet and modern dance, and people dancing themselves . These activities have very little, or no, cognitive content .14 May not religious and other rituals be similarly understood? A possible new sub-area suggests itself here : the sociology of ritual action, cross-cutting the institutional areas of religion, politics, the arts and medicine for instance, in a way similar to the way in which the sociology of knowledge, or sociology of values, could cross-cut them too . For a period such a re-orientation might help sociology of art as much as sociology of religion, through the inter-play of research and ideas . In addition, it could provide a way of linking with biological, and psychological, work on ritual in animals and humans .
NOTES
P. Berger and T. Luckman, The Social Construction of Reality, 1966 . P. Berger, The Social Reality of Religion, 1969, Faber and Faber, London . T. Luckman, The Inoisible Religion, 1967, Macmillan, New York . 2 . See P . Berger, 1969, op. cit ., pp. 30-32 . 3 . See note 1 above and also T . Luckman's contribution in the Acts of the 12th International Conference on Sociology of Religion, 1973, section 3, pp. 57-68 . 4 . For a good example of the breakdown into areas, see the Foundations of Modern Sociology series (ed. A . Inkeles), Prentice-Hall, ig6o's. 1.
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5 . For a resume of this research see J . Milton Yinger, The Scientific Study of Religion, 1970, Macmillan, Chap . 13 . 6 . Examples are K . Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia ; C . Lukacs, History and Class Consciousness, 1971, Merlin Press, London ; L . Goldman, The Hidden God. 7 . See N . Harris, Beliefs in Society, Watts, London, 1968, especially Chap . 3 ; and L. Goldman, op . cit ., note 6 above . 8 . For further development of this notion see R . J . Bocock, Ritual in Industrial Society, G . Allen and Unwin, London, 1974 . g . D . Wrong, `The Pitfalls of Social Reductionism ; The Over-socialised Conception of Man', American Sociological Review, Vol . 26, 1961, pp . 1 83 -93 . to . See, for example, Toward a General Theory of Action, T . Parsons and E . Shils (eds .), 1951, Harvard University Press, Part 2, Chap . 3, `Systems of value-orientation' . Sections on cognitive symbols ; expressive symbols ; and evaluative symbols . 11 . This accepts C . Kluckhohn's distinction between conceptions of the desirable and the actually desired . Both can be studied. See C . Kluckholn's paper, Part 4, Chap . 2, in T. Parsons and E . Shils, 1951, op . cit. (note 1o, above) . 12 . C . Levi-Strauss, Structural Anthropology, 1963, Basic Books Inc ., U .S.A . For example, part 3 of this book, `Magic and Religion' where links are drawn between sorcery and modern psycho-analysis. 13 . Some recent examples here : F . Rust, Dance and Society, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1969 . J. Goodlad, A Sociology of Popular Drama, Heinemann, London, 1971 . G . Charbonnier, Conversations with Claude Levi-Strauss (Broadcast by R .T.F., 1959), Jonathan Cape, London, 1969 . 14 . S . Langer, Philosophy in a New Key . A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art, 1942, Harvard University Press . This is a useful book in distinguishing an area of emotional symbolism distinct from rational symbolism .
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largely by sociologists of an ethnomethodological, social interactionist, or social phenomenological perspective . The proposal to subsume sociology of religion under sociology of knowledge has been made by marxists, such as N . Harris or L. Goldmann, because religion is a belief and value system, an ideology . 7 The Berger and Luckmann proposal is more concerned with construction of meaning and is more relativistic than that made from the marxist position . For marxism can itself be subsumed as a meaning-system which has to be socially maintained, rather like Buddhism or Catholicism, or whatever . Nevertheless, the proposal is similar . Not all of sociology of religion can be subsumed under sociology of knowledge, because the new sub-division `Berger and Luckmann style sociology of knowledge' is too wide and not itself embedded in an alternative complex breakdown of sociology . Hence sociologists can be forgiven for thinking of the new sub-discipline as imperialistic, for many phenomena other than religion could be seen as part of meaning-system construction and maintenance--certainly political ideologies and psychiatric movements, if not science too. Education, the arts, law and the mass media are all involved in constructing, maintaining or imposing definitions of reality and meaning by one group for, or upon, another group . Some more complex sub-divisions are necessary to prevent this inflationary aspect of the new formulation taking all in its wake . The key assumption, shared by marxists, neo-marxists and some phenomenologists, is that of a conception of man which is over-cognitive . Too much attention is paid to ideas, beliefs, value-formulations, not enough to actions, and emotions . 8 The errors which Dennis Wrong pointed out in the oversocialised conception of man reappear now in an over-verbal approach . 9 The body and its actions, states and feelings are eschewed . Words about people's words appear again and again . A threefold analytical breakdown is suggested here, which is derivative from Parsons and Shils, 10 viz . (a) ideas, myths and beliefs ; (b) values, both desirable and desired ; and (c) emotional states and cultural symbolizations of these . Sociology of knowledge should be seen as the sociological analysis of ideas and beliefs in any of the major institutional spheres-religion, politics, science (including social sciences), law, literature . A sociology of values would study what is held to be desirable in different ideologies and world-views, related to what groups actually do desire . Questionnaires investigating desirable values are not enough ; actions must be observed, either in the present, or historically . Problems of explanation in this sub-area would revolve around explaining why a group doesn't or does act on its articulated values." A sociology of emotion and the symbols and rituals surrounding emotions in groups, institutions, and whole societies would study these phenomena historically, comparatively and in contemporary societies . The division between sociology and anthropology collapses at this point . Certainly some scholars would, as individuals, specialise in pre-literate societies in various areas of the
116
TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF RITUAL ACTION
globe, but this work as a community cf scholars would be oriented to comparative work as far as possible (e .g . C. Levi-Strauss in Structural Anthropology) . 12 The sociology of religion is concerned with this area as much as with beliefs, values and ideas . In anthropology of religion this area has always been better developed because there are few, if any, books, but many ritual and aesthetic objects, and ritual actions, in the religion of some pre-literate societies . So we have the possibility of combining the institutional areas of sociology with these three possible analytical emphases . Different levels of social systems could be added . Any of the combinations could be studied at the level of a whole society ; or at the level of a community or city-area ; or at the level of organizations such as political parties, or trade-unions ; or at the small group level, as in gangs, families, therapy groups, etc . This way of seeing the subidivisions of sociology is developed with a view to showing the types of work which can be done, or have been done, in sociology of knowledge, of arts and religion . The sociology of art has been over-verbal in orientation, concentrating on novels, plays, poems, sometimes songs . It is least developed vis-a-vis the performing artstheatre, music, dance-in spite of some noble efforts ." What is to be done in these sociologies of religion and art if they are to avoid being made part of sociology of knowledge? Clearly, there are questions of belief of central importance for sociology, but the hold of a religion over groups can be as great because of its symbolic and ritual emotionality as for its cognitive solutions to the problem of meaning . This is true of many forms of art, and specific works of art . Consider, for example, dancing, both audiences watching ballet and modern dance, and people dancing themselves . These activities have very little, or no, cognitive content .14 May not religious and other rituals be similarly understood? A possible new sub-area suggests itself here : the sociology of ritual action, cross-cutting the institutional areas of religion, politics, the arts and medicine for instance, in a way similar to the way in which the sociology of knowledge, or sociology of values, could cross-cut them too . For a period such a re-orientation might help sociology of art as much as sociology of religion, through the inter-play of research and ideas . In addition, it could provide a way of linking with biological, and psychological, work on ritual in animals and humans .
NOTES
P. Berger and T. Luckman, The Social Construction of Reality, 1966 . P. Berger, The Social Reality of Religion, 1969, Faber and Faber, London . T. Luckman, The Inoisible Religion, 1967, Macmillan, New York . 2 . See P . Berger, 1969, op. cit ., pp. 30-32 . 3 . See note 1 above and also T . Luckman's contribution in the Acts of the 12th International Conference on Sociology of Religion, 1973, section 3, pp. 57-68 . 4 . For a good example of the breakdown into areas, see the Foundations of Modern Sociology series (ed. A . Inkeles), Prentice-Hall, ig6o's. 1.
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5 . For a resume of this research see J . Milton Yinger, The Scientific Study of Religion, 1970, Macmillan, Chap . 13 . 6 . Examples are K . Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia ; C . Lukacs, History and Class Consciousness, 1971, Merlin Press, London ; L . Goldman, The Hidden God. 7 . See N . Harris, Beliefs in Society, Watts, London, 1968, especially Chap . 3 ; and L. Goldman, op . cit ., note 6 above . 8 . For further development of this notion see R . J . Bocock, Ritual in Industrial Society, G . Allen and Unwin, London, 1974 . g . D . Wrong, `The Pitfalls of Social Reductionism ; The Over-socialised Conception of Man', American Sociological Review, Vol . 26, 1961, pp . 1 83 -93 . to . See, for example, Toward a General Theory of Action, T . Parsons and E . Shils (eds .), 1951, Harvard University Press, Part 2, Chap . 3, `Systems of value-orientation' . Sections on cognitive symbols ; expressive symbols ; and evaluative symbols . 11 . This accepts C . Kluckhohn's distinction between conceptions of the desirable and the actually desired . Both can be studied. See C . Kluckholn's paper, Part 4, Chap . 2, in T. Parsons and E . Shils, 1951, op . cit. (note 1o, above) . 12 . C . Levi-Strauss, Structural Anthropology, 1963, Basic Books Inc ., U .S.A . For example, part 3 of this book, `Magic and Religion' where links are drawn between sorcery and modern psycho-analysis. 13 . Some recent examples here : F . Rust, Dance and Society, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1969 . J. Goodlad, A Sociology of Popular Drama, Heinemann, London, 1971 . G . Charbonnier, Conversations with Claude Levi-Strauss (Broadcast by R .T.F., 1959), Jonathan Cape, London, 1969 . 14 . S . Langer, Philosophy in a New Key . A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art, 1942, Harvard University Press . This is a useful book in distinguishing an area of emotional symbolism distinct from rational symbolism .