Smit, Peter-Ben A.2016-09-122016-09-122016-08-05Smit P-B., 2016, ‘Ritual failure in Romans 6’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 72(4), a3237. http://dx.DOI. org/ 10.4102/hts.v72i4.3237.0959-9422 (print)2072-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v72i4.3237http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56696Ritual studies are slow to make a large impact on New Testament studies, despite a number of notable exceptions. This notwithstanding, rituals occur frequently in the New Testament, in particular when there is a problem with a ritual. In this article, recent anthropological work on ‘ritual failure’ is used to address Paul’s discussion of Roman practices concerning baptism in relation to a person’s walk of life and to argue that this can be understood well as a case of ’ritual failure,’ in which a ritual fails, from Paul’s perspective, to achieve what it should. This leads both to challenging the attitude of the Romans concerning baptism and to a reconsideration of its significance.en© 2016. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Ritual studiesRoman practicesRitual failureNew Testament studiesTheology articles SDG-03SDG-03: Good health and well-beingTheology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle