An adventurous expedition into the land of naturalistic ritual research. A review on Dimitris Xygalatas, Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living, London: Profile Books, 2022.

Abstract

The book under review provides an overview of various aspects of ritual within evolutionary and cognitive religious studies. The almost exclusive focus on a naturalistic research program may, at first glance, appear as an inappropriate narrowing of perspective. However, it has the advantage that the different theoretical approaches within this program speak essentially the same language, allowing for productive discussion. The content of the book is based on a careful selection of both ethnographic and experimental research but is delivered in a lively narrative style. This makes the book pleasant to read even for the committed lay person.