I'm not one to trust a practice without solid evidence of success. So, I find ritual to be fascinating.

For starters, I notice a chicken/egg issue. Many ritualistic practices require "test then assess." If I don't perform the ritual, how would I see a result in the first place? I can't fully cast aside the ritual until I complete the ritual.

Rituals require trust, even before proof of effectiveness. And, when nothing happens, it doesn't invalidate the ritual. Rituals require faith.

For example, if I have a ritual around meditation, doing it once may be helpful, but if it isn't, do it again tomorrow. And again the next day. And the next. I must have faith that a ritual will produce results over time, even if not immediately. But, here's the thing, almost everything done consistently will produce the result of a habit or a commitment; and I hate to invest in something and get nothing.

Subjectivity overrides objectivity. Humans are funny this way. Anything is better than nothing. We celebrate the habit and justify our adherence even when evidence of effectiveness is weak. In the face of fact, I'll take "my truth." 

Ritual is not valuable until we do it enough. But, by the time we've done it enough, it's become a habit. Now that it's a habit, we're committed. Now that we're committed, we're more willing to overvalue its effectiveness. This carries the risk of evangelizing without hard evidence, and instead with subjective faith.

And there's the rub.