The Transformation of the Concept of Initiation in Religious Studies of the 20th and 21st Centuries

The phenomenon of initiation occupies a paradoxical place in religious studies – seen by some as a universal, by others as an archaism vanishing with secularization. This article examines the causes of this ambivalence by asking: Is ritual reducible to social function? Is secularization an irreversible disenchantment or merely a transformation of the sacred? The author traces four metatheoretical strategies from the classics (Durkheim, Weber) through traditionalists (Gunon, Evola) and phenomenologists (Eliade) to postcolonial critique (Asad, Smith). Behind debates on initiation lies a broader discussion on the applicability of Enlightenment categories to non-Western cultures. The analysis concludes with an examination of the forms initiation takes today - from criminal rituals and military practices to mass mobilizations – and why understanding them requires a revision of conventional theoretical frameworks. Methodologically, the research relies on historical and comparative methods, comparative religious studies, and a philosophical-hermeneutical approach. The theoretical foundation includes classical concepts of rites of passage (van Gennep), liminality (Turner), and the critique of universalist definitions of religion. The scientific novelty lies in a four-part metatheoretical scheme classifying approaches to initiation and religion according to the researcher’s stance toward the Enlightenment project. The theoretical significance consists in refining the conceptual status of initiation. Contemporary forms of initiation demonstrate the persistence of archaic structures, and the advent of metamodern requires moving beyond universalist models toward considering each culture as a unique symbolic order, interpreting the myths that underlie it.