When did formal rites of passage into adulthood disappear from American/European culture?

by tylerthehun

I had this question in response to another posted here, but others thought it merited its own thread.

There are still some remnants such as the Bar Mitzvah and QuinceaƱera, but rites of passage in general seem to have waned in importance or been restricted to a religious connotation. Currently, a young American is recognized as beginning to turn into an adult at the onset of puberty, but this transformation can take many years to finish and there is never a concrete point at which it is recognized as complete. Has this always been the case, in either America or pre-Colonial Europe? Was there ever a proper rite of passage at all in Western cultures? How does modern legislature regarding the acquisition of individual freedoms fit in?

Theige

I'd argue graduation ceremonies are a rite of passage.

shaggorama

In addition to those you listed, there are also:

  • Sweet sixteen parties
  • Getting driver's licenses
  • Religious "confirmation" ceremonies

And of course, as Theige noted: graduation ceremonies.

Rites of passage absolutely still exist in the West.

Tauchfischstaebchen

In East Germany there was the "Jugendweihe" as a substitute for the religious coming-of-age festivities that were no longer desireable in the secularized communist GDR. After the downfall of the iron curtain there are still many places in eastern Germany where this is celebrated as a formal change into adulthood.

gingerkid1234

There are still some remnants such as the Bar Mitzvah and QuinceaƱera, but rites of passage in general seem to have waned in importance or been restricted to a religious connotation.

Your wording makes it sound like you're assuming these are remnants of a European proto-rite-of-passage. They're both rites of passages, but they're not remnants of a common ancestor.

Also the Bar Mitzvah is a religious rite of passage, and is often celebrated as such.

jeffbell

There are still Debutante Balls in some American subcultures.