Serendipitous ritualization: dynamics of lay connectivity in Chinese Buddhist temples and beyond

This article contributes to rethinking the dichotomy between informal sociality and ritual formality by examining the occasional ritual encounters surrounding spirit‐tablet inscription in Chinese Buddhist temples. Rather than viewing rituals as enactments of established orders, it presents ritual engagement as a contingent process of relational formalization, through which individuals reconfigure their relational entanglements. Ethnographic attention to the selection and inscription of names on spirit‐tablets highlights the role of lay receptionists who facilitate, validate, and ritualize diverse affective ties, which process grants ritual autonomy to traditionally dependent actors, particularly women. Informed by yuanfen – a value‐neutral metapragmatic category of interconnectedness in Chinese popular culture, the paper introduces the concept of ‘serendipitous ritualization’ to describe how individuals navigate and negotiate contemporary identities through ritualized cultural forms. Overall, this paper shows how rituals mediate social‐religious transformations, portraying Chinese temple‐goers and other occasional ritual practitioners not merely as ‘performers’ but as proactive ‘knowers’ engaged in a dynamic journey of relational ritualization. By showing how individuals reinterpret and reshape their interpersonal relationships amid evolving social interactions and shifting relational expectations, the paper positions serendipitous ritualization as a vital practical‐epistemological process and advances the ritual analyses of social life.