When Alterations are Violations: Moral Outrage and Punishment in Response to (Even Minor) Alterations to Rituals

From Catholics performing the sign of the cross since the fourth century to Americans reciting the Pledge of Allegiance since the 1890s, group rituals (i.e., predefined sequences of symbolic actions) have strikingly consistent features over time. Five studies document the sacrosanct nature of rituals: because group rituals can symbolize sacred group values, even minor alterations to rituals provoke moral outrage and punishment. Study 1 uses secular holiday rituals to explore the dimensions of ritual alteration—both physical and psychological—that elicit moral outrage. Study 2 uses a workplace ritual to demonstrate that ritual alterations differ from norm violations. In Study 3, group members who viewed male circumcision as more ritualistic (i.e., Jewish versus Muslim participants) expressed greater moral outrage in response to a proposal to alter circumcision to make it safer. Study 4 uses the Pledge of Allegiance ritual to explore a potential moderator, showing that the ritual alterers’ intentions influenced observers’ moral outrage. Finally, Study 5 reveals that even minor alterations elicit comparable levels of moral outrage to major alterations of the Jewish Passover ritual. Across both religious and secular rituals, we show that the more ingroup members believe that rituals symbolize sacred group values, the more they protect the rituals—by punishing those who violate them.