Rite of passage

Many groups in modern industrial society practice customs that can be traced to an earlier sacred phase.

The rest of Van Gennep's book presents a description of rites of passage and an organization into types, although in the end he despairs of ever capturing them all:[4] "It is but a rough sketch of an immense picture ...." He is able to find some universals, mainly two: "the sexual separation between men and women, and the magico-religious separation between the profane and the sacred."

In the work he concentrates on groups and rites individuals might normally encounter progressively: pregnancy, childbirth, initiation, betrothal, marriage, funerals and the like.

"The first phase (of separation) comprises symbolic behavior signifying the detachment of the individual or group ... from an earlier fixed point in the social structure.

The transition (liminal) phase is the period between stages, during which one has left one place or state but has not yet entered or joined the next.

Re-incorporation is characterized by elaborate rituals and ceremonies, like debutant balls and college graduation, and by outward symbols of new ties: thus "in rites of incorporation there is widespread use of the 'sacred bond', the 'sacred cord', the knot, and of analogous forms such as the belt, the ring, the bracelet and the crown.

[10] It is theorized that such dissonance heightens group attraction among initiates after the experience, arising from internal justification of the effort used.

He can convince himself that the initiation was not very unpleasant, or he can exaggerate the positive characteristics of the group and minimize its negative aspects.

[15] Another study using mathematical subtraction tasks reached the opposite conclusion[16] but research using electrical shocks supported the concept that suffering increased the degree to which participants liked the group.

Many western societal rituals may look like rites of passage but miss some of the important structural and functional components.

However, in many Native and African-American communities, traditional rites of passage programs are conducted by community-based organizations such as Man Up Global.

Szecskáztatás, a mild form of hazing (usually without physical and sexual abuse), is practiced in some Hungarian secondary schools.

Fraternities and sororities, like other private societies, often have codified initiation ceremonies as ritual separating candidates from members.