Work

Practical belief and ritualized order in the Waldorf school

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Based on a year-long ethnographic fieldwork at a well-established Waldorf school in Sweden, this article explores the production of practical belief through the lens of ritual theory. The school in focus is a socially dense environment in which an incarnated orientation is cultivated through boundary work and shared ritual forms. The article examines how pupils, through ritualized practice, incorporate the school’s aesthetic and moral order in ways that not only enable them to act in accordance with the educational programme, but also allow them to perceive meaning and purpose in doing so. While order is incorporated through the rituals, by the flesh, the lived body also serves as a mediator for new inscriptions of meaning, sometimes challenging the traditional Waldorf instruction. Thus, rituals not only reinforce and stabilize order but also disturb it.

Source: Sociology

DOI: 10.1177/00380385261438404

Author: Maria Törnqvist

Institution: Uppsala University

Language: English

Topic: Scientific and Historical Analyses

Subfield: Philosophy

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900