1 The Ritual Self Reaching for the Sacred with No Help from God Eugene Bardach Goldman School of Public Policy UC Berkeley

2 Who Might Care?  Not the religiously faithful  Not agnostics (God of the Gaps, etc.)  Not atheists… –…who don’t care about “the sacred” –…who are also secularists –…who find rituals in general distasteful –…who take “rationality” lightly (ironists, etc.)  So who’s left?

3 Overview of the Argument  “Sacredness” a humanistic idea  Acknowledge the Ritual Self  The community of Ritual Selves: The Ritual Theater Company –The participants, including “God” –Ritual “scripts” –“Enacting” versus “acting”  Concluding questions

4 “Sacredness” a Humanistic Idea  Humility, awe, (mystical unity?)  “Meaning,” “elevation” (Haidt)  Moral depth – Moral behavior (?)  Related humanistic goals –Community –Connection to history

5 The Ritual Self The Ritual Self has license to speak and act in ways disapproved by the Empiricist Self The Ritual Self has license to speak and act in ways disapproved by the Empiricist Self Ritual Self Empiricist Self B Self C Self A Self Whole Self (Humanist) D Self

6 A Community of Ritual Selves  What kind of community? –Creates a sacred environment (“space”) –Ritual poetry, music, metaphor flourish  Example: “God grant us peace” –About peace, and us, and hopefulness –“God” is partially shared metaphor(s)  The “Contemporary Ritual Theater Company”

7 Participants in the Contemporary Ritual Theater Company C A B E D F G “God” Historical Figures Professional Leaders Ritual Selves A-G

8 Scripts in the Ritual Theater  Connecting to history and tradition –Tradition reassures, embraces us –History enlarges us –History explains and constrains us  “So, you think you’re so smart?” –History resonates through us  But “tradition” evolves too –E.g., dignity of women, homosexuals

9 “Enacting” in the Ritual Theater  “Enacting” versus “acting” –The actor’s self both humbled and enlarged –A danger: play-acting  Enacting sacredness creates the environment of sacredness –Value its communal character –Value its fragility –Value its temporariness

10 Concluding Questions (1)  Are all religious frameworks good candidates? –The Humanistic Self should disapprove of the intolerant and fanatical ones –They differ in their theatrical raw materials  Might there be simpler, better alternatives? –E.g., love of nature, ecosystem, earth?  But no history, no social compassion –Non-theistic religion, e.g., Buddhism?

11 Concluding Questions (2)  Might the Ritual Self overwhelm the Empiricist Self? –Yes, there is a risk  Does everyone have a Ritual Self? –Not to the same degree or kind –Fear of “The Divided Self”