The subject of this book is ritual behaviour, in particular of groups with a distinctive religious, ethnic or other identity which use rituals to pursue strategic ends "ad intra" and "ad extra". Five essays offer theoretical perspectives on ritual in plural and pluralist societies, on similarity and and demarcation, on the negative case of the Australian Aboriginals, on Brazilian religious pluralism and on Ghanaian churches in the Netherlands. Further essays describe the ritualization of the encounter, or confrontation, between religions in India (between Buddhists and Hindus, and Hindus and Muslims), and in Yemen Muslims and Jews. The responses to internal religious plurality in early Israel, Java, Indonesia, Spain and North Africa are also examined, as are the responses to external religious plurality. In the epilogue, the social nature of pluralism and identity is highlighted.
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