Rites and Rituals: Margaret Mead at the Intersection of Anthropology and Prayer Book Revision

Abstract

This essay explores the intersection of anthropological study and Prayer Book revision in the life and work of Margaret Mead, whose work, reach, and religious practice made her a fascinating choice to join the committee reviewing the Baptismal liturgy during the lead up to what would become the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Mead’s study of rites of passage, her belief that the study of other cultures ought to affect our own, and her participation in Episcopal churches gave her unique insight into the process. At the same time, her desire to escape the strictures of the committee to which she had been assigned prefigured the explosion of various rites and services that would arise in the decades after the release of the 1979 Prayer Book.