The Most Painful Religious Rituals

Self-flagellation. Body mortification. Fire-walking. Global religion has bunches of examples of extreme, painful rituals. But why do humans do them?
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All photographs are courtesy of Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas unless otherwise stated.
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Bibliography:
Dimitris Xygalatas, "How Extreme Rituals Forge Intense Social Bonds,"

Fischer et. al., "The Fire-Walker’s High: Affect and Physiological Responses in an Extreme Collective Ritual," February 2014 | Volume 9 | Issue 2


Xygalatas et. al. “Effects of Extreme Ritual Practices on Psychophysiological Well-Being,” Current Anthropology, Volume 60, Number 5, October 2019.

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