As a Christian turned atheist, I can attest to the fact that church rituals do in fact encompass quite a few valid and effective techniques.
Consider the following practices which researchers have fairly well established contribute to mental wellness (all links are to Psychology Today):
Nothing surprising or new, right?
But the weird thing is when you realize each of the above practices is embedded in weekly church attendance:
OK only 7 years late to this thread, but feel I've got a much more apt analogous exercise for a woman, which would be for her to take an assertive role (eg articulate strategy, awarding credit for work done, and delegating tasks) at a workplace meeting in which she is neither the organizer nor the highest ranked attendee. Bonus points if male attendees leave without the feeling she was being "bossy"