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This paper explores the ways in which ancestor research has become a replacement for religious community and practice in a post-religious world. We explore the parallels of popular present-day family history pursuits with traditional religious practices, noting the similarities in how the practices are used to foster and strengthen feelings of identity, purpose, and belonging. We look at three particular customs that are common to those interested in ancestor research: the handing on of ‘sacred’ stories and objects with familial significance; acts of pilgrimage to ancestrally significant places; and engaging in ‘ritual’ gatherings, either with extended family or with others who share the interest of ancestor research.

Copyright of Horyzonty Wychowania is the property of Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the present article we explored how family prayer reportedly influenced family relationships. We conceptualized family prayer as a family ritual in religious families and used a qualitative methodology to interview a religiously, ethnically, and geographically diverse sample of 198 families (N = 476). Analysis of data revealed 7 related themes. Family prayer served important functions and influenced relationships in various ways including (a) as a time of family togetherness and interaction; (b) as a space for social support; and (c) as a means for intergenerational transmission of religion. Further, family prayer (d) involved issues and concerns of individuals and the family; (e) helped reduce relational tensions; (f) provided feelings of connectedness, unity, and bonding. Finally, (g) families struggled to pray together when there was disunity. Implications, applications, and future directions are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems of traditional ritual food of the population of West Podillya are studied. The preparation of traditional festive dishes of the annual calendar cycle and family and family rituals has been analyzed. Each cycle, including winter, spring, autumn and summer, has its own special traditional ritual dishes, which are cooked only during the corresponding cycle. In all the events (baptism, weddings, funerals) the main magic of the act is bread. The preservation of sacred ceremonial dishes in the present is confirmed. The purpose of the study is to study the nutrition of western podillyan, analysis of the presentation of the material about the traditional features of the ritual nutrition of the Ukrainian population of this region. The article used the following methods: historical-system and field ethnographic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cult of Confucius as practiced in Confucian temples had all the characteristics of a state religion, largely removed from the everyday lives of elite Confucians. In contrast, during late Imperial China, many Confucians cultivated private household ritual practices centered on the cult of Confucius and important sages and worthies. This private ritual practice differed significantly from the official cult of Confucius. First, it was far less rigid and more fluid. Second, because it was a private practice, there was greater autonomy in ritual practice. Thirdly, these ideas reflected a new understanding of Confucian identity in relation to both one's own bloodline and the genealogy of the Way. This articles addresses these issues in the context of descriptive examples of this ritual practice, along with an account of its significance with respect to ideas related to this private ritual practice, including ritual theory debates on incorporating images in the ritual, and the relationship between ritual and moral cultivation. To better understand this practice, this article will further provide some discussion of the intellectual context of the Ming-Qing transition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The potential value of family rituals in children’s processes of meaning making This article reports on the findings of a qualitative study that explored family rituals as potential asset in children’s processes of giving meaning. As such, the purpose of the study was firstly to identify the dimensions of family rituals in one family that participated; and secondly, to explore potential ways in which the participation in family rituals could influence children’s processes of meaning making. The study was embedded in the interpretivist paradigm, rested on an instrumental case study design, and deployed educational psychological assessment, informal conversations, semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, visual data, observation and field notes as data collection and documentation methods. Two Afrikaans-speaking primary school children (a brother and sister) and their parents were purposefully selected as participants. During the study, the five basic dimensions of family rituals (structure, meaning, persistence and commitment, adaptability and gender relations) could be identified in the rituals practised by the participating family. In addition, six other dimensions were prominent, namely task completion, communication, roles, affective management, affective involvement and behaviour management. Based on the positive effect of family rituals on the meanings given by the participating children it is concluded that family rituals may serve as an asset within the family context and as such be employed during family intervention initiatives.

Abstract: Participation in family meals has been associated with benefits for health and social development of children. The objective of the study was to identify the impact of mothers’ work of caring through planning regularly scheduled meals, shopping and cooking, on children''s participation in family meals. Parents of children aged 9–11 or 13–15 years from 300 Houston families were surveyed about parents’ work, meal planning for and scheduling of meals, motivations for food purchases, importance of family meals, and children''s frequency of eating dinner with their families. The children were interviewed about the importance of eating family meals. Hypotheses were tested using path analysis to calculate indirect and total effects of variables on the outcome variable of frequency of children eating dinner with their family. Mothers’ belief in the importance of family meals increased likelihood of children eating dinner with families by increasing likelihood that mothers planned dinner and that dinners were regularly scheduled. Mothers’ perception of time pressures on meal preparation had a negative, indirect effect on the frequency of children''s participation in family dinners by reducing mothers’ meal planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Kakovostna Starost is the property of Anton Trstenjak Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This qualitative study investigated 80 young-adult stepchildren's talk about one of their parents' remarriage ceremony. The remarriage event was celebrated in six types of ritual enactments, five of which celebrated the couple's marriage and one of which was family-centered in its celebration of the beginning of the new step family. Three factors led stepchildren to find the remarriage ceremony empty: (i) a ritual form that was too traditional or not traditional enough; (ii) a ritual enactment that failed to pay homage to either the stepchild's family of origin or the step family as a unit; and (iii) a ritual enactment that failed to involve the stepchild prior to and during the ceremony. Results support the characteristics of empty rituals posited in ritual theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study investigates how low-income rural families celebrate children's birthdays, using interview data from 128 mothers residing in five states. Findings from a qualitative content analysis show that the mothers make special efforts to have birthday celebrations as other families do despite their financial constraints. Making the birthday child feel happy and "normal" is the central goal of the birthday celebrations. Many of the mothers desire big parties and expensive gifts, which are socially expected characteristics of birthday celebrations. These mothers adopt various strategies to acquire, create, and allocate resources they need, including reducing expenditures, planning, changing priorities, pooling resources, and receiving assistance from their social networks. However, some mothers cannot celebrate birthdays the way they want because of financial constraints and may feel unsatisfied with their celebrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and their families living in poor, inner-city neighborhoods are at high risk for experiencing multiple traumas. This article describes findings from a qualitative study designed to explore the impact of chronic traumas on family life through the voices of primarily African American caregivers coping with urban poverty. Structured interviews are conducted with 16 caregivers of children ages 6 to 9 years who had been exposed to multiple traumas and had symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Caregivers explain changing daily routines to accommodate child distress and promoting positive family processes such as increased protectiveness. They also describe various roles that religion/spirituality play in their coping with trauma, including finding comfort in the faith that God controls what happens in their lives. These themes are discussed with regard to theory and practical applications for assisting traumatized families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article studies the use of shared reminiscence about a deceased parent as a coping mechanism. The most common bereavement of adulthood is the loss of a parent. One part of coping with the loss and coming to terms with it is shared reminiscence with siblings and others about the parent who has died. For family and individual therapists, understanding the role of shared reminiscence is important. Much of the healing of bereavement occurs in the context of family life and friendships. The research reported here outlines what might be helpful in family life in coming to terms with a parent death and suggests why it may be valuable to remove blocks to shared reminiscence in family life. To illustrate the phenomenon of shared reminiscence and to probe its dynamics, an interview study was carried out that focused on sibling reminiscence about a deceased parent. Forty-three households were randomly chosen from community directories for a neighborhood in Minneapolis and two suburbs immediately adjacent to Minneapolis. In qualitative research, one must carefully monitor consistency among different pieces of information, making special efforts to probe for information that would refute the picture that seems to be emerging. That was done in this study.