They keep it running: How rituals make our lives easier

Rituals keep society running. Researchers at the University of Graz provide insights into a wide variety of traditional procedures. Photo: Adobe Stock

The running event on the national holiday, decorating the graves before All Saints' Day or the favorite drink before the exam: Familiar routines provide stability and strengthen social cohesion

"Rituals - social bond and window to meaning" is the title of a symposium organised by the Faculty of Catholic Theology together with the Franciscans on 28 and 29 October. It gets to the heart of the impact and benefits of familiar regular routines. The morning circle in kindergarten, the Gaudeamus igitur at graduation, inauguration ceremonies in politics or fan chants in the stadium: in the spotlight, researchers from the University of Graz provide an overview of not-so-dusty customs.

Dagmar Eklaude

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