A Rite of Passage to Manhood / Initiation into Manhood in 2024
This article answers the question… What should a rite of passage to manhood be in 2024? / What is the process of initiation into manhood? / How do we help boys become good men today?
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” – Paul the Apostle
“In many tribal cultures, it is said that if boys were not initiated into manhood, if they were not shaped by the skills and love of elders, then they would destroy the culture.
If the fires that innately burn inside youths are not intentionally and lovingly added to the hearth of community, they will burn down the structures of culture, just to feel the warmth.” – Michael Meade (Author)
Why are Really Alive and Mature Men so Rare Today?
In one of his more recent books, “The New Manhood”, Steve Biddulph (Australian Psychologist and author) provides the answer.
Because the majority of boys and young men today are not guided through “a carefully managed process” of initiation into manhood / a rite of passage to manhood… something that all cultures offered in some form, prior to the commencement of the Industrial Revolution 300 years ago.
In Australia, the prison population is made up predominantly of men.
As at June 30, 2005, 93.2% of prisoners in Australia were men.
It is men who commit the overwhelming majority of sex crimes, serious motoring offences, burglaries, robberies, and violent assaults etc.
Why might that be?
I believe that Michael Meade has already provided the answer… because boys in our culture are not intentionally “initiated into manhood”.
They typically do not experience an intentional rite of passage to manhood / a process of initiation into manhood.
What Should a Rite of Passage to Manhood / a Process of Initiation into Manhood Include?
- Dad, or a father figure e.g. Uncle, Grandfather, mentor, coach, teacher etc.)
- A Community of Men in Male Rites of Passage
- Training and Instruction in Manhood Rites of Passage
- Adventure - Testing and challenging
- A Rite of Passage Ceremony / Marker Event
Simply click on any of the above-mentioned essential elements in bold, to explore that essential element further.
Our guided "Rite of Passage" Son and Father Adventure experiences have been designed, and are delivered, to provide Dads, and father figures, with each of those essential elements to ensure that their sons experience a rite of passage to manhood. i.e. experience an initiation into manhood.
We encourage you to Book Now, for one of the dates & at one of the locations, that will suit your family best.
If you'd like to know more about what rites of passage actually are, and why they are so important etc., then we recommend that you read the following informative blog post, entitled "Rites of Passage in Australia, and Beyond - The Ultimate Guide".