Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.

Faith & Religion

Rites of Passage

Been waiting a few says to blog about this but the video is now available online. TV2’s Flipside (a semi-interactive youth news and issues programme) ran an interesting segment on rites of passage for young people back on 11 December. Not much depth to it but some interesting ideas to pursue:

  • What are the contemporary rites of passage for young people today? (either individually or in their communities)
  • A comment about a rite of passage being a “small death”.
  • Another comment about people making their own ritual and rites today.
  • The lack of any mention of significant religious rites of passage, either today or in the past.
  • The loss of traditional rites and rituals.

Might be a useful segment to introduce a group talking about their own rites of passage and their significance. Also the opportunity for Alt.W and other spiritual groups in helping everyday people form new, relevant and life-giving rites for all ages.

The video clip can be found here on the Flipside site: Flipside – Rites of Passage. Video is a bit erratic but the sound works okay. The blurb for the video is as follows:

We all go through different stages as we grow up and we mark these changes with events or rituals. There’s the good old 21st, moving out of home, getting drunk for the first time? Vanessa takes a look at rites of passage. What they are, and why they’re important to all of us.