Liturgy, Ritual, and the Sacred

An introduction to the theory and practice of ritual, focused on elements shared by multiple traditions. Humans use ceremony to approach the divine, build community, mark important life events, and more. Together, we will explore theological, psychological, sociological, anthropological, and philosophical theories of ceremonial activity. We will apply those theories as we study effective ritual facilitation to increase our own skills. (This ten week graduate course is open, by pre-registration, to students at the Vancouver School of Theology.)