I would say that "rite" is used to describe the religious rituals associated with Western religions, and with Christian rituals in particular. Christianity has "rites" - the rituals of baptism, extreme unction, etc. are called "rites." Eastern Orthodox Christianity has "rites." But we use "ritual" to describe the rituals of other religions: Jewish rituals, Buddhist rituals, Shinto rituals, Hindu rituals, Taoist rituals, and the rituals of any number of tribal cultures. For instance, Hindu ritual suicide (Sati) is called a "ritual." The Japanese tea ceremony is called a "ritual." Shabbat dinner in Judaism is called a "ritual."(Sorry, I don't mean to pick on you, AutumnOwl, but I thought it was important to point out that not all religions are Christian or Western.)In general, "ritual" names any meaningful action (for an individual or for a community) that has a standardized form and that can be repeated. It is the general term. The word "rite" is used in more restricted senses and is associated with specific turns of phrase or with specific kinds of rituals.It might be - but I'm not entirely sure - that "rites" are performed by an agent of a religion (a priest, for instance), while "rituals" can be performed by anybody.这是从bbs贴过来的一种答案。 应该比较准确全面
五堂宅修
