purification rituals

Purification rituals are ceremonial practices intended to cleanse a person, object, or place of spiritual contamination or impurity.

These appear across religions and cultures—baptism in Christianity, mikveh immersion in Judaism, wudu ablutions in Islam, smudging with sage in Indigenous traditions.

The rituals typically involve water, fire, smoke, or sacred substances: The priest performed purification rituals before entering the temple.

Beyond religious contexts, the phrase sometimes describes secular cleansing routines treated with unusual seriousness: Her morning skincare routine had become a purification ritual.