Science, Tech, Math › Social Sciences Ritual Share Flipboard Email Print Rolfo/Moment/Getty Images Social Sciences Sociology Key Concepts Major Sociologists News & Issues Research, Samples, and Statistics Recommended Reading Psychology Archaeology Economics Ergonomics By Ashley Crossman Updated on November 17, 2019 Definition: A ritual is a formalized mode of behavior in which the members of a group or community regularly engage. Religion represents one of the main contexts in which rituals are practiced, but the scope of ritual behavior extends well beyond religion. Most groups have ritual practices of some kind. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Crossman, Ashley. "Ritual." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/ritual-definition-3026526. Crossman, Ashley. (2020, August 26). Ritual. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/ritual-definition-3026526 Crossman, Ashley. "Ritual." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/ritual-definition-3026526 (accessed May 31, 2023). copy citation