Following the wave of protests over the war in the Gaza Strip, several U.S. universities have decided to cancel or ramp down commencement ceremonies. More are expected to follow.

Announcing their decision, these institutions cited security concerns related to the turmoil and division that followed the protests. This, however, may simply make a bad situation worse.

As an anthropologist who studies the human need for ritual, I have spent two decades investigating the role of collective ceremonies in creating meaning and belonging. I have also seen the flip side of that: Depriving people of meaningful rituals can lead to disillusionment and social disengagement.

From the cradle to the grave, the most important moments of our lives are ritualized. From personal milestones such as birthdays and weddings to societal changes like the transfer of government power, all major transitions are shrouded in ceremony. The fact that these rituals occur without exception in all human societies highlights their importance.

The anthropologist Arnold van Gennep called these ceremonies “rites of passage.” He noted that across cultures, they have a similar structure and achieve similar outcomes.

Rites of passage typically involve three stages. First, participants are separated from their previous way of life, physically or symbolically, and move toward a new status and identity. For instance, civilians may give up their familiar routines and move away from their friends and family to join the army. Students do the same when they leave behind campus life to join the labor force.

The second phase is the liminal period between stages. It is characterized by ambiguity and uncertainty, as initiates leave their former status behind but have yet to assume their new role. During that period, a cadet may feel as neither a civilian not a soldier; a bride neither single nor married; and candidates neither pupils nor graduates.

In the third and final stage, the transition is complete and the initiate is reintegrated into society with new status. As a military initiation turns civilians into soldiers, a commencement turns apprentices into qualified professionals.

Rites of passage do not merely celebrate the transition to a new state – they actively create this new state in the eyes of society.

Research shows that people unconsciously perceive ritual actions to cause actual changes in the world. This is why even minor changes in protocol may leave the impression of failure. When Barack Obama uttered the words to the presidential oath of office in the wrong order, the legitimacy of his power was questioned. Eventually, he had to retake the oath. Moreover, when an action is ritualized, it feels more special and appealing.

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