From Local to National to Local to National

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by jazing

As for this budding off topic discussion, I don't feel a ritual should be changed. It was written a certain way back when it was founded and there is no need to change it. It's actually better to keep it the way it is to better learn the history of your organization. My group doesn't limit itself to Jewish members anymore, but our ritual is still basically the same thing (one minor difference) and I hope it doesn't change in the years to come.

I think it needs to be looked at a different way. The Ritual of an organization needs to match the values that the organization embodies, tied to the founders' vision.

So, if XYZ now allows non-whites, but there was a clause in the Ritual that is anti-minorities, that should be removed.

But if XYZ was founded as an organization to further white culture and unity, then that same clause should be reevaluated to match the current social climate (read: equality).

Now, not the best example, but I hope you're getting the direction that I'm aiming for. Rituals should not completely change but should evolve with bettering times, considering how old most of our organizations are. Acceptable norms in 1900 aren't the same in 2013.

But if a Ritual doesn't at all match the organization's purpose and values, then there are much bigger issues which need to be resolved.

[DubaiSis]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

So, if XYZ now allows non-whites, but there was a clause in the Ritual that is anti-minorities, that should be removed.

But if XYZ was founded as an organization to further white culture and unity, then that same clause should be reevaluated to match the current social climate (read: equality).

This is more or less what I was getting at. A sorority may have included elements that are now considered wildly racist, even though white supremacy was never what they intended. The same could have happened inadvertently where it applied to religion. They were raised in religious homes so when it came time to write a ritual, of course they included these elements. But they didn't intend for the sorority to be religious per se. Or maybe they did, but that's never been the take away I got on our ritual.

/eta I don't know if my sorority has ever modified the ritual. Maybe I should look into that!

[33girl]

There's a difference between POLICY and RITUAL. This discussion is making me REALLY curious as to what some rituals may include.

[sigmagirl2000]

Originally Posted by 33girl

There's a difference between POLICY and RITUAL. This discussion is making me REALLY curious as to what some rituals may include.

Seriously - I've never had a real craving to know about other groups' rituals, but this conversation makes me curious.

It's hard for me to imagine that if a ritual (or section of) was that offensive, that some disgruntled new initiate wouldn't drop and then tell the world of the horrible experience.

I mean, there are some historically significant pieces that shouldn't be changed (like the catsuits, duh), but if there are parts that are as outrageous as has been implied, I'd think it's time to make the ritual match the values of an organization.