Perhaps religion seems an unlikely example of playing, but if you look at religious rites and festivals, you'll see all the play elements, and also how deep that play can become. Religious rituals usually include dance, worship, music, and decoration. They swallow time. They are ecstatic, absorbing, rejuvenating. The word "prayer" derives from the Latin precarious, and contains the idea of uncertainty and risk. Will the entreaty be answered? Life or death may depend on the outcome.
— Diane Ackerman, Deep Play