The Psychological and Religious Impact of Growth and Maturation

The article will discuss the impact of rites of passage to the individual and how it engenders one and makes one accepted in the societal norms. Ceremonies that mark important transitional periods in a person's life, such as birth, puberty, marriage, having children, and death. Rites of passage usually involve ritual activities and teachings designed to strip individuals of their original roles and prepare them for new roles. The traditional African wedding ceremony is such a rite of passage. In many so-called primitive societies, some of the most complex rites of passage occur at puberty, when boys and girls are initiated into the adult world. In some ceremonies, the initiates are removed from their village and may undergo physical mutilation before returning as adults. The emphasis and the central point of this article will mainly deal with the relevance of rites of passage in the contemporary society, it will touch certain rites that the society currently looks at in disdain especially circumcision of women, which is geared towards submission as a result of patriarchal dominance. The aticle will culminate in relating some initiation rites of passage to Christianity, how we can inculturate some acceptable values into worship, also it will touch how the Bible viewed some initiation rites. The article will be summarized and concluded with some observations and a critical evaluation of some female initiations that seem not to carry some impact except inflicting pain that is female circumcision.