Throughout history, young people earned adult roles through observing, imitating, and interacting with adults around them. Rituals of initiation such as the Jewish bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah are very important rite of passage ceremonies. Many churches confer baptism, confirmation, or catechism as rites of passage to adulthood. Without such rituals, there are no markers for maturity and meaning in life. Rituals of initiation are common in nearly every cultural and religious tradition. Many rites of passage involve guided risk taking and adventure, marking the road to maturity. But in modern society youth often seek badges of maturity through artificial rites of passage such as drug use or defiance of adult rules. In this article, the authors discuss how one can build positive rites of passage. (Contains 1 footnote.)