Ritual view of communication

The ritual view of communication is a communications theory proposed by James W. Carey, wherein communication–the construction of a symbolic reality–represents, maintains, adapts, and shares the beliefs of a society in time. In short, the ritual view conceives communication as a process that enables and enacts societal transformation.

Carey defines the ritual view particularly in terms of sharing, participation, association, and fellowship. In addition, Carey acknowledges that, commonness, communion, and community, naturally correspond with the ritual view. In a similar way, the term "ritual" holds religious connotations. For Carey, this connection to religion helps to emphasize the concept of shared beliefs and ceremony that are fundamental to the ritual view.

In contrast to the ritual view, James W. Carey presents what he considers the more commonly recognized transmission view of communication. In the transmission view the dissemination of information constitutes the primary goal. James W. Carey defines the transmission view in terms of imparting, sending, transmitting and giving information to others. In the transmission view information is disseminated across geography largely for the purpose of control. To support this idea, James W. Carey refers to the messaging systems of ancient Egypt wherein, "transportation and communication were inseparably linked" and served as a method of control.

Where James W. Carey seemingly presents these two views as oppositional, he acknowledges that the dichotomy is false. He states, "neither of these counterpoised views of communication necessarily denies what the other affirms". Instead, they offer a nuanced perspective of communication that enables a broader understanding of human interaction.

In the foreword of Communication as Culture G. Stuart Adam states that, "Carey transferred the phenomenon of communication (and its technologies) from a place in the background of social theorizing and analysis to a place in the foreground."

Randall Rothenberg echoes this accreditation to James W. Carey in Advertising Age when he calls Carey "a godfather to U.S. media studies."

Certainly, non of these. For instance, in communication journals, Carey’s theory has been applied–often as a theoretical framework–to family stories, undergraduate studies, business practices, computer technologies, and criminal behaviour. More broadly, Carey’s theory has been applied to theology, advertising, sociology, anthropology, and geography.

Yet, James W. Carey himself was inspired and influenced by a number of well-known philosophers and theorists, in particular, John Dewey, Harold Innis, and Marshall McLuhan.

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