Religion and Rituals

Abstract

This paper sketches the development of the relationship between religion and ritual in the German cultural sphere since the Middle Ages. The historical changes in the relationship between religion and ritual will be identified. The starting point of this examination is the assumption that the present-day loss in religious meaning goes hand in hand with changes in the staging and performance of rituals and ritual structures, although the relationship between religion and ritual cannot be fully explained causally or functionally.

Keywords: Ritual, Religion, God, Faith, Staging