How Narrative and Ritual Form Communities: Theological Orientations from Paul Ricoeur and Mary Douglas
Adam Sejbuk
Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6936-3027
Tereza Huspeková
Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-8763
Abstract
The contemporary Western context, marked by secularization and renewed interest in spirituality, raises the question of how communities are formed, sustained, and transformed, and what role narrative and ritual play in this process. This study explores how Paul Ricoeur’s theory of narrative and Mary Douglas’s anthropology of ritual and social structure can be brought into dialogue to contribute to the reflection on community formation. The overall perspective is theological; however, the analysis of Ricoeur’s and Douglas’s thought is confined to their respective fields—hermeneutics and anthropology— while aiming to formulate issues that can later be addressed theologically. The article first presents Ricoeur’s understanding of narrative and community, then Douglas’s account of ritual and social order, and finally discusses their points of convergence and theological implications. It identifies three points of convergence between the two approaches: the issue of mediation; the significance of the idea of “community of meaning” in relation to narratives and ritual; and the joint role of narrative and ritual in shaping personal and collective identity. The study is preliminary in character; however, the dialogue between Ricoeur and Douglas offers a promising conceptual framework for theological reflection, particularly on liturgy, sacraments, and ecclesial communities, showing that narrative and ritual are complementary dimensions of human and communal existence.
Keywords:
narrative, ritual, community, Mary Douglas, Paul Ricoeur, sacramentsReferences
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