Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual

In Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual, Tom F. Driver illuminates the making of ritual by removing it from its churchly wrappings and presenting it as something raw, basic, and central to all living beings. He examines the varied ways humans use ritual to give order to their lives, to deepen feelings of communal belonging, and to transform the status quo. Driver looks closely at how ritual, viewed as creative performance, is essential to religion and to the movement from bondage to freedom, whether in society or the individual. His analyses use examples drawn from a wide variety of cultures and religions -- Haiti, Korea, South Africa, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, and more, in addition to the author's own North American Protestantism. The result is an accessible and engaging discussion, ideal for introductions to religion, the psychology of religion, the sociology of religion, and studies in ritual and liturgy. Many general readers also will find the book fascinating because it makes explicit so many unspoken feelings about the human longing for rituals that 'work,' combining meaning with power.

Tom F. Driver first earned a national reputation writing drama criticism for The Christian Century, The New Republic, The Reporter, other national magazines, and radio station WBAI-FM in New York, as well as one book about Shakespeare and another on the history of the modern theater. Later he turned to theological themes, taking an original approach in books such as Patterns of Grace and Christ in a Changing World. Eventually he brought together his twin loves, theater and theology, by focusing upon ritual as a type of performace. This is the subject of Liberating Rites: Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual. Interest in ritual performance as well as devotion to human freedom led Driver to a study of Haitian life and culture, the source of much illustrative material in Liberating Rites. Until retirement, Driver was The Paul Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he had studied before obtaining a Ph. D. in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Since retiring from the classroom he has become an activist for peace and justice, paying particular attention to these causes in relations between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He is a critic of U.S. imperialism and militarism. He and his spouse, Anne L. Barstow, have produced two educational videos about the U.S. contribution to ongoing violence in Colombia. When not traveling abroad the couple reside in New York City and in Sheffield, MA.