Home›Lifecycle Rituals›All Lifecycle RitualsBrowse ByAll Lifecycle RitualsRites tied to a stage of life, birth, coming of age, marriage, death, sometimes called rites of passage in the comparative study of religion. Initiation is itself a lifecycle rite in many traditions, but is filed separately here where an entry's own emphasis is admission into a group rather than a stage of life as such.FactsLearn MoreAll Lifecycle RitualsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedThe category is van Gennep's: Les rites de passage (1909) proposed that such rites everywhere follow a three-stage pattern of separation, liminality and incorporation, and Victor Turner's 1969 work on liminality made the middle stage the centre of the frame. It is a scholars' scheme, not a traditions' one. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRites marking a passage in an individual life - birth and naming, coming of age, marriage, ordination, death. Nearly every tradition marks some of these, but not the same set, and which passages are marked by religious rite rather than by civil custom differs by tradition and by period. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRituals 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard analytic category in the study of religion 2Learn MoreThe lifecycle rituals This group gathers lifecycle rituals, the rites that mark the great transitions of a human life: birth and naming, coming of age, marriage, and other passages by which a person moves from one status to the next. Such rites of passage are found in every religious tradition and are among the most universal features of religious life. The browser will find lifecycle rituals from across the world's traditions. The entries describe each rite's form, meaning and setting, noting the tradition to which it belongs and the transition it marks.All Lifecycle RitualsFilter Results53 entriesAddressed ToAllGod (Abrahamic) (1)White Buffalo Calf Woman (1)Origin Period Start YearAll-2000 (1)-1200 (1)-1000 (2)-800 (4)-700 (1)-500 (2)50 (1)150 (1)200 (2)600 (1)610 (2)622 (1)1100 (1)1500 (1)1550 (1)1600 (1)1900 (1)1949 (1)1991 (1)2007 (1)Attested InAllHadith (3)Torah (2)FrequencyAllAnnual (3)As the occasion requires (3)Once, or at a turning point in a life (46)Seasonal, at set points in the year (1)Closed Practice StatusAllClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced (3)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (2)Life Stage MarkedAllA milestone of childhood (5)Birth and the newborn (8)Coming of age (16)Entry into the community or the order (2)Marriage (15)Naming of a child (4)Ordination, profession or vows (1)ObligationAllObligatory (12)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (3)Optional and voluntary (5)Recommended and meritorious, not required (8)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (52)Largely abandoned as a comparative category (1)Social FormAllPerformed alone (1)Performed by a gathered group (30)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (7)Practice StatusAllLiving tradition, practised today (33)Revived or reconstructed in the modern era (2)PractitionerAllAll adherents of the tradition (3)Clergy or ordained officiants (6)Householders, those living in the world (12)Lay people (8)Officiant Led (6)The candidate undergoing the rite (6)Trained or authorised specialists (10)Women only (2)Native To RegionAllAncient Israel (6)Ancient Rome (1)Arabia (4)Britain (1)Byzantine Empire (1)Eastern Europe (2)Indian Subcontinent (5)Japan (3)Mesopotamia (1)Mexico (1)Punjab (1)Rome (1)United States (2)TraditionAllAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church (2)African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (2)Anglican Communion (5)Anglicanism (5)Armenian Apostolic Church (5)Assyrian Church of the East (2)Baptist (1)Beta Israel (1)Breslov Hasidism (12)Calvinism (Reformed) (2)Chabad-Lubavitch (12)Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (2)Church of Cyprus (6)Church of England (5)Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) (1)Church of Greece (6)Church of Ireland (5)Church of Scotland (2)Church of Sweden (3)Church of the Nazarene (2)Conservative Judaism (3)Coptic Orthodoxy (5)Disciples of Christ (1)Dutch Reformed Church (2)Eastern Orthodoxy (6)Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (6)Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (5)Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (5)Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (3)Free Methodist Church (2)Georgian Orthodox Church (6)Global Methodist Church (2)Greek Orthodox Church (6)Haredi Judaism (12)Hasidic Judaism (11)Humanistic Judaism (1)Karaite Judaism (1)Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) (2)Lutheranism (3)Maronite Church (2)Mennonites (1)Methodism (2)Modern Orthodox Judaism (12)Moravian Church (2)National Baptist Convention of America (1)Old Believers (2)Oriental Orthodoxy (5)Orthodox Judaism (11)Presbyterianism (2)Progressive National Baptist Convention (1)Quakerism (Religious Society of Friends) (1)Reconstructionist Judaism (1)Reform Judaism (5)Roman Catholicism (7)Romanian Orthodox Church (6)Russian Orthodox Church (6)Saint Thomas Christians (2)Serbian Orthodox Church (6)Shia (Twelver) (1)The Episcopal Church (5)The United Methodist Church (2)Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (2)Ukrainian Orthodox Church (6)Wesleyan Church (2)Originated InAllAncient Israel (6)Ancient Rome (1)Arabia (4)Britain (1)Byzantine Empire (1)Eastern Europe (2)India (1)Indian Subcontinent (5)Japan (3)Mesopotamia (1)Mexico (1)Punjab (1)Rome (1)United States (2)Originates In LanguageAllArabic (3)Classical Arabic (1)Hebrew (5)Punjabi (1)Sanskrit (6)Yiddish (2)Kind of ritualAllBirth and Naming Rites (13)Coming-of-Age and Initiation Rites (11)Marriage Rites (14)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 53Anand KarajLifecycle RitualsAnnaprashanaLifecycle RitualsAnointing of the SickLifecycle RitualsApache Sunrise CeremonyLifecycle RitualsApotropaic Birth Rites Against LamashtuLifecycle RitualsAqeeqahLifecycle RitualsAqiqahLifecycle RitualsBaci CeremonyLifecycle RitualsBedekenLifecycle RitualsBirth BlessingLifecycle RitualsBragoroLifecycle RitualsBrit Milah (Bris)Lifecycle RitualsChalitzahLifecycle RitualsChisunguLifecycle RitualsChudakaranaLifecycle RitualsChuppahLifecycle RitualsChurching of WomenLifecycle RitualsComing-of-Age RitesLifecycle RitualsCouvadeLifecycle RitualsDipoLifecycle RitualsEland Bull DanceLifecycle RitualsGuan Li and Ji Li (Capping and Hairpin Ceremonies)Lifecycle RitualsHandfastingLifecycle RitualsHoly MatrimonyLifecycle RitualsImbaluLifecycle RitualsInfant Baptism and ChristeningLifecycle RitualsIsnati Awicalowanpi (Lakota Buffalo Ceremony)Lifecycle RitualsKhitanLifecycle RitualsKiddushin and NissuinLifecycle RitualsKinaaldaLifecycle RitualsMarriage CeremonyLifecycle RitualsMisa de Accion de Gracias (Quinceanera)Lifecycle RitualsMonastic VowsLifecycle RitualsNaghol (Land Diving)Lifecycle RitualsNamakaranaLifecycle RitualsNaming and Blessing of ChildrenLifecycle RitualsNaming CeremonyLifecycle RitualsNikahLifecycle RitualsOrthodox Crowning (Stefana)Lifecycle RitualsPidyon HabenLifecycle RitualsRitushuddhiLifecycle RitualsSeijin-shikiLifecycle RitualsSheva BrachotLifecycle RitualsShichi-Go-SanLifecycle RitualsShinzen KekkonLifecycle RitualsTemple SealingLifecycle RitualsThe Liberalia and the Toga VirilisLifecycle RitualsUmhlanga (Reed Dance)Lifecycle RitualsUpanayanaLifecycle RitualsUpsherinLifecycle RitualsVivahaLifecycle RitualsWalimaLifecycle RitualsYichudLifecycle RitualsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensionstier 1Catherine Bell, Oxford University Press, 1997Basic Genres of Ritual ActionView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.