Given below are some statements. Read them carefully and choose the correct statement (s) from the given options.

Statement 1: Rituals also have secular dimensions as distinct from secular goals.    

Statement 2:  The social importance of rituals has declined in recent decades because of increasing modernisation.

None of the given statement is correct.

The correct answer is Option 1: Only Statement 1 is correct.

Statement 1: Rituals also have secular dimensions as distinct from secular goals. Correct. Rituals are not confined to religious functions. They also have secular dimensions, such as providing opportunities for social interaction and displaying a family's wealth, clothing, jewellery and social status. These secular dimensions are distinct from their secular goals.

Statement 2: The social importance of rituals has declined in recent decades because of increasing modernisation. Incorrect. In recent decades, the economic, political and status dimensions of rituals have become increasingly conspicuous. The number of cars lined up outside a wedding house and the presence of VIPs at a wedding are viewed as indicators of a household's standing in the local community.

NCERT: Rituals have also secular dimensions as distinct from secular goals. They provide men and women with occasions for socialising with their peers and superiors, and for showing off the family’s wealth, clothing and jewellery. During the last few decades in particular, the economic, political and status dimensions of ritual have become increasingly conspicuous, and the number of cars lined up outside a wedding house and the VIPs who attended the wedding, provide the index to the household’s standing in the local community.