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Ritual - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21) |
 | | A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. |
 | | In any case, an essential feature of a ritual is that the actions and their symbolism are not arbitrarily chosen by the performers, nor dictated by logic or necessity, but are, at least in part, prescribed and imposed upon the performers by some external source. |
 | | Although ritual is often used in context with worship performed in a church, the actual relationship between any religion's doctrine and its ritual(s) can vary considerably from religion to religion. |
| en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Rituals (720 words) |
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