Pain and suffering as part of religious life: The Mauritian Thaipusam kavadi
In a pop-science article published in Dingir, E. Kundtová Klocová discusses the various socio-cultural aspects of the Thaipusam Kavadi ritual as practiced in Mauritius.
Ritualization reduces anxiety
In their chapter, Martin Lang and Radim Chvaja examine the evolutionary relationship between anxiety and rituals and ask whether the ritual reduction of anxiety might be adaptive?
They argue that in pro-longed uncontrollable circumstances, long-lasting anxiety could be unnecessarily harmful. Ritual anxiety reduction could thus be beneficial in safe environments, even if not mitigating the threat itself.
You can find the chapter here:
