The meaning and function of ritual in psychiatric disorder, religion and everyday behaviour

Ritual is a central feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and is found in other psychiatric conditions. Defined in a general sense, it is seen in the everyday behaviour of animals and of humans, in secular ceremonies, and in religion. This paper examines the various types of ritual. It considers the common features and differences.

Material from psychiatric, biological, sociological, anthropological and religious studies literature is reviewed and discussed.

The term 'ritual' describes a wide variety of phenomena. These include the rituals of OCD and range from relatively simple animal signals to profoundly meaningful human behaviour. A common feature is stereotyped physical activity which conveys information. Some clinical, developmental, evolutionary and religious/historical evidence suggests that stereotyped motor behaviour may be the primary phenomenon.

The study of ritual in all its manifestations provides insight into the basis of important human behaviours. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a likely paradigm for this study. Psychiatry, with its clinical orientation and biopsychosocial perspective, is a discipline within which the study might occur.