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Rituals are argued to be transformative in the literature. However, a psychological understanding of transformative ritual has been lacking. Moreover, in contemporary society, meaning-making processes are more complex and uncertain, and... more
Rituals are argued to be transformative in the literature. However, a psychological understanding of transformative ritual has been lacking. Moreover, in contemporary society, meaning-making processes are more complex and uncertain, and the practice of ritualising leads to more individualised and dynamic rituals. This article explores the question how to understand ritual transformation from a psychological perspective. In this theoretical review, insights from ritual studies are combined with psychological theories to build a theoretical framework on ritual transformation. Ritual is found to be transformative in terms of (1) aesthetic distance, (2) structured performance and (3) social collaboration. Ritual is considered in this article to be a culturally scripted event that cultivates emotions and thoughts through symbolic action in a social setting. The article ends with suggestions on how to study this framework in future empirical research.
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Ritualizing, the creative, imaginative, and intuitive act of ritual making has been acknowledged for some time now in the literature. In this study, this intuitive process is studied in more detail from the perspective of ritual theory.... more
Ritualizing, the creative, imaginative, and intuitive act of ritual making has been acknowledged for some time now in the literature. In this study, this intuitive process is studied in more detail from the perspective of ritual theory. The aim is to theoretically strengthen a framework of ritual making for professionals, such as chaplains and celebrants working with renewed rituals. A practical framework comprising three steps of ritual making is discussed in more detail: 1) communicating about ritual theme or cause, 2) the ritual (re)design and 3) performing the ritual. Ritualizing leads to dynamics and possible tensions, such as between introducing new elements and (re)using old ones or between the individual and the collective. The article offers an entry point or building block to understand contemporary ritual making in postsecular contexts.
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The present study investigates ritualizing abortion in the Netherlands. Explorative, qualitative research was conducted with semi-structured interviews (n = 13) with women who looked for counseling and 43 online personal stories about the... more
The present study investigates ritualizing abortion in the Netherlands. Explorative, qualitative research was conducted with semi-structured interviews (n = 13) with women who looked for counseling and 43 online personal stories about the abortion from the website of a national care and expertise center. The results reveal three main categories of ritualizing: (1) creating and using symbols privately and online, (2) remembering or honoring the experience and (3) embodied ritualizing. The data reveal that respondents find meaning in the ritualizing through sharing the experience with others, expressing various feelings through symbolic and ritual forms, fostering a connection with the child-to-be, showing respect, seeking closure and transforming the experience in a meaningful way. This research reveals types of ritualizing practices in relation to a meaningful life event such as abortion. For a specific group of women experiencing decision difficulty or existential concerns in relat...
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Every life has a beginning and an end. Natality and mortality are both profound existential fundaments of life that may lead us to question meaning in life as well as to find meaning. In spiritual care, the focus is often on mortality as... more
Every life has a beginning and an end. Natality and mortality are both profound existential fundaments of life that may lead us to question meaning in life as well as to find meaning. In spiritual care, the focus is often on mortality as a source of existential suffering, and on ways to deal with such suffering according to worldview traditions. In humanist traditions, mortality is not only seen as an existential threat but also as an existential given that people need to embrace to find meaning in life. Natality has received much less attention, both in spiritual care and in humanist thought. In this article, we build on philosophical ideas of Arendt and Butler to explore the significance of natality for a humanist perspective on meaning in life and spiritual care. We argue that taking natality into account results in a relational understanding of humanist spiritual care in which the notion of “relational transcendence” is a central element. Natality also means that we can initiate...
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The aim of this article of to analyze ritual in evidence-informed treatments for prolonged and traumatic grief. A scoping review is conducted in order to give an overview of existing literature on ritual and symbolic interventions in... more
The aim of this article of to analyze ritual in evidence-informed treatments for prolonged and traumatic grief. A scoping review is conducted in order to give an overview of existing literature on ritual and symbolic interventions in grief therapies for prolonged grief and the type of evidence supporting these interventions. The 22 studies reported in this review reveal a variety of ritual elements ranging from symbolic expression and interaction, writing assignments, dialogue with the deceased or an imaginary person, to farewell ceremonies at the end of the treatment. The interventions are studied within different populations (e.g., bereaved spouses, perinatal loss, grief after violent death, and genocide). Almost all studies show significant effects of the grief treatment, trauma and related symptoms. However, the effects are mostly measured for the entire treatment and not separately for the ritual intervention. In the discussion we focus on the role of ritual and culture in prol...
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Birth is the beginning of a new life and therefore a unique life event. In this paper, I want to study birth as a fundamental human transition in relation to existential and spiritual questions. Birth takes place within a social and... more
Birth is the beginning of a new life and therefore a unique life event. In this paper, I want to study birth as a fundamental human transition in relation to existential and spiritual questions. Birth takes place within a social and cultural context. A new member of society is entering the community, which also leads to feelings of ambiguity and uncertainty. Rituals are traditionally ways of giving structure to important life events, but in contemporary Western, secular contexts, traditional birth rituals have been decreasing. In this article, I will theoretically explore the meaning of birth from the perspectives of philosophy, religious and ritual studies. New ritual fields will serve as concrete examples. What kind of meanings and notions of spirituality can be discovered in emerging rituals, such as mother’s blessings or humanist naming ceremonies? Ritualizing pregnancy and birth in contemporary, secular society shows that the coming of a new life is related to embodied, social ...
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Decision-making in the acute phase after a severe stroke is complex and may involve life-and-death decisions. Apart from the medical condition and prognosis, quality of life and the deliberation of palliative care should be part of the... more
Decision-making in the acute phase after a severe stroke is complex and may involve life-and-death decisions. Apart from the medical condition and prognosis, quality of life and the deliberation of palliative care should be part of the decision-making process. Relatives play an important role by informing physicians about the patient's values and preferences. However, little is known about how the patients' relatives experience the decision-making process. To elicit the perspective of relatives of severe stroke patients with regard to the decision-making process in the acute phase in order to understand how they participate in treatment decisions. An exploratory qualitative interview approach guided by the principles of grounded theory. Relatives of severe stroke patients (n = 15) were interviewed about their experiences in the decision-making process in the acute phase. Four categories reflecting relatives' experiences were identified: (1) making decisions under time pr...
Research Interests: Decision Making, Palliative Care, Family, Quality of life, Qualitative Research, and 14 moreGrounded Theory, Medicine, Palliative Medicine, Deliberation, Stroke, Humans, Female, Male, Feeling, Aged, Middle Aged, Public health systems and services research, Terminal care, and Surveys and Questionnaires
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This article reports a study of the relation between narcissism as a personality characteristic and the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism. Participants from a more collectivistic society (Poland; n = 167) were compared with... more
This article reports a study of the relation between narcissism as a personality characteristic and the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism. Participants from a more collectivistic society (Poland; n = 167) were compared with participants from a more individualistic society (The Netherlands; n = 156). Two dimensions of narcissism were distinguished: overt and covert. The cultural tendency for narcissism was measured by comparing average scores on both types of narcissism in both countries, as well as by the meaning that overt and covert narcissism seems to have for psychological well-being. More specifically, the correlations were compared among both types of narcissism and depression and meaning of life. In the Polish sample, the average score on covert narcissism was higher. In the Dutch sample, on the other hand, depression and meaning of life were significantly related to covert narcissism.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Social Psychology, Psychometrics, Personality, and 15 moreCulture, Medicine, Poland, Psychological Well Being, Humans, Collectivism, Psychological, Narcissism, Netherlands, Depressive Disorder, Social Environment, Covert, Cultural Dimension, Two Dimensions, and Psychological Reports
ABSTRACT While house shrines seemed to have virtually disappeared from Roman Catholic homes in the Netherlands, a representative national survey conducted in 2005 showed that they had re-emerged in a different form and become a more... more
ABSTRACT While house shrines seemed to have virtually disappeared from Roman Catholic homes in the Netherlands, a representative national survey conducted in 2005 showed that they had re-emerged in a different form and become a more widespread phenomenon among ...
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This article focuses on the relation between death and religion in a secularized society. In the Netherlands, traditional religious membership has declined significantly together with traditional belief systems. This study investigates... more
This article focuses on the relation between death and religion in a secularized society. In the Netherlands, traditional religious membership has declined significantly together with traditional belief systems. This study investigates the relation between the experience of death and religious affiliation (unaffiliated, Catholic, and Protestant) in relation to meaning making. Parts of a nationwide survey study (n = 1212) are analyzed in order to investigate different forms of meaning making (Christian meaning, personal meaning, and denial of meaning). The results show that the experience of the death of a loved one is related to personal meaning giving only for Protestant participants. Moreover, religiously unaffiliated, Catholics and Protestants differ significantly in different ways of meaning making. In the discussions the authors focus on the different effects of different religious groups in the context of secular society.
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Das Gedenken der Toten gehört zu den wesentlichen Merkmalen einer jeden Kultur.1 Das Verhältnis zu den Verstorbenen kann dabei jedoch sehr unterschiedliche Formen annehmen. So hat die deutsche Historikerin Aleida Assmann darauf... more
Das Gedenken der Toten gehört zu den wesentlichen Merkmalen einer jeden Kultur.1 Das Verhältnis zu den Verstorbenen kann dabei jedoch sehr unterschiedliche Formen annehmen. So hat die deutsche Historikerin Aleida Assmann darauf hingewiesen, dass sich das ...
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In de week na 30 oktober 2010, de dag waarop Harry Mulisch op 83-jarige leeftijd overleed, kolkten de thema's dood en onsterfelijkheid door de Nederlandse media. Meestal was de toonzetting serieus, maar soms ook luchtiger, zoals toen... more
In de week na 30 oktober 2010, de dag waarop Harry Mulisch op 83-jarige leeftijd overleed, kolkten de thema's dood en onsterfelijkheid door de Nederlandse media. Meestal was de toonzetting serieus, maar soms ook luchtiger, zoals toen Jeroen Brouwers over Mulisch'adagium 'Ik ben onsterfelijk tot het tegendeel bewezen is' opmerkte dat 'je (…) niet eleganter je middelvinger naar het universum (kunt) opsteken'. Soms was zij zelfs ronduit humoristisch, zoals in de grap volgens welke Mulisch, na door God zelf te zijn rondgeleid ...
Research Interests: Neuroscience and Art
Birth and death are fundamental human experiences [...]