Religious Rituals and Secular Rituals: Interpenetrating Models of Childbirth in a Modern, Israeli Context

Women interviewed at a maternity hospital in Jerusalem were found to have selected childbirth rituals from a very large ritual reservoir, gleaned from diverse religious and nonreligious sources. This chapter argues that previous studies of childbirth rituals may well have underestimated the extent t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of religion 1993-03, Vol.54 (1), p.101-114
Main Author: Sered, Susan Starr
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Birth
Birth rituals
Childbirth
Delivery (Childbirth)
Funerary rituals
Israel
Jerusalem, Israel
Jewish rituals
Natural childbirth
Pregnancy
Religious aspects
Religious practices
Religious rituals
Rites and ceremonies
Ritual
Rituals
Toy models
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Description
Summary:Women interviewed at a maternity hospital in Jerusalem were found to have selected childbirth rituals from a very large ritual reservoir, gleaned from diverse religious and nonreligious sources. This chapter argues that previous studies of childbirth rituals may well have underestimated the extent to which the precise ritual packages of individuals are idiosyncratic. Factors encouraging idiosyncratic ritual selection among the women of this study include: multiple models of childbirth behavior, modernity, pluralism, lack of absolute ritual requirements, and multiple sources of childbirth information.
ISSN:1069-4404
1759-8818
DOI:10.2307/3711844