The Carefully Orchestrated and Solemn Acts of Ritual Have a Disciplining

The carefully orchestrated and solemn acts of ritual have a disciplining effect on people, directing the attention of participants to the ideals and sentiments they share with their group. They are lifted for a time out of the limited horizon of their own personal preoccupations, and exposed through highly condensed symbols, gestures, and stories to an intuitive grasp of the collective wisdom of their society. Durkheim referred to this as the ________ conscience.