Maturity (psychological) - Cultural and Religious Issues

Cultural and Religious Issues

In Jewish religion, the “becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah” (literally “an who is subject to the law") refers to the ceremony declaring that a Jewish child is morally and ethically responsible for their actions, is eligible to be called to read from the Torah, as well as responsibility to abide by the 613 laws written in the Torah. Traditionally, this ceremony awarded adult legal rights as well as the right to marry. Similarly, Christian churches hold Confirmation as a rite of passage in early adolescence. The rite holds fewer practical responsibilities than the Bar/Bat Mitzavah, but carries ethical and moral consequences. Of age Christians who complete Communion are responsible for going to church on Sundays and for confessing their sins periodically, and it is a common practice to warn children that it would be a mortal sin (an act punishable by banishment to hell) to lapse in these responsibilities.

Prom is celebrated throughout many countries of the world following or prior to final coursework for the year or after graduation. Various parties, ceremonies, or gatherings are held, ranging in their focus on academics, bonding, or as a farewell. In some Western European countries a post-degree party consists of burning notebooks and final projects. In certain countries, such as Colombia and the United States, the prom has come to take on a dual role of celebrating both academic achievement as well as sexual maturity. Quinceañera, in parts of Latin America, Début in the Phillipines, Ji Li in China, and sweet 16 in the United States coincide closely with graduation, which highlights the importance and broad recognition of the transition; however, these celebrations are most prominently celebrated only by girls up until recently. A number of traditions are associated with the earlier critical maturation point of menarche. A girl’s menarche is celebrated in varying ways, with some traditional Jewish customs defining it as a contamination, with the customs shaped around cleaning it away and ensuring it does not make anything or one unclean. This served a historical purpose of blocking women from taking part in economic or political events. The Maori of New Zealand, the Tinne Indians of the Yukon, the Chichimilia of Mexico, and the Eskimos, among other groups, all hold varyingly negative beliefs about the time of menarche and what dangers it brings.

For boys and young men, the practices of scarification, hazing, ragging, fagging, Szecskáztatás in Hungary, and other abuses or humiliations as a rite of passage into a group. These practices test and assert the expectations for pain tolerance and allegiance for men in those groups. Various branches of the military hold similar formal proving rituals (e.g. boot camp and Army basic training) that, aside from serving to train entrants, also demarcate an initial recognition of maturity in the organization, with successive experiences building upon that. Many occupations and social groups recognize similar tiers of maturity within the group across many cultures, which underlie the universality of maturity as a status that is successively achieved throughout the life-cycle.