Eugenics; Sexual ethics; Women -- Social and moral questions
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that this is the moment, and the
earliest moment, when it becomes desirable to initiate the boy or girl
into the mysteries of religion. That it is the best moment is indicated
by the well-recognized fact that the immediately post-pubertal period of
adolescence is the period during which, even spontaneously, the most
marked religious phenomena tend to occur.[173] Stanley Hall seems to think
that twelve is the age at which the cultivation of the religious
consciousness may begin; "the age, signalized by the ancient Greeks as
that at which the study of what was comprehensively called music should
begin, the age at which Roman guardianship ended, at which boys are
confirmed in the modern Greek, Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal
Churches, and at which the Child Jesus entered the Temple, is as early
as any child ought consciously to go about his Heavenly Father's
business."[174] But I doubt whether we can fix the age definitely by
years, nor is it indeed quite accurate to assert that so early an age as
twelve is generally accepted as the age of initiation; the Anglican
Church, for example, usually confirms at the age of fifteen. It is not
age with which we ought to be concerned, but a biological epoch of
psychic evolution. It is unwise to insist on any particular age, because
development takes place within a considerably wide limit of years.
I have spoken of the introduction to religion at puberty as the
initiation into a mystery. The phrase was deliberately chosen, for it
seems to me to be not a metaphor, but the expression of a truth which
has always been understood whenever religion has been a reality and not
a mere convention. Among savages in nearly all parts of the world the
boy or girl at puberty is initiated into the mystery of manhood or of
womanhood, into the duties and the privileges of the adult members of
the tribe. The youth is taken into a solitary place, for a month or
more, he is made to suffer pain and hardship, to learn self-restraint,
he is taught the lore of the tribe as well as the elementary rules of
morality and justice; he is shown the secret things of the tribe and
their meaning and significance, which no stranger may know. He is, in
short, enabled to find his soul, and he emerges from this discipline a
trained and responsible member of his tribe. The girl receives a
corresponding training, suited to her sex, also in solitude, at the
hands of the older women. A clear and full description of a typical
savage initiation into manhood at puberty is presented by Dr. Haddon in
the fifth volume of the _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological
Expedition to Torres Straits_, and Dr. Haddon makes the comment: "It is
not easy to conceive of more effectual means for a rapid training."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account