Section C: 1.3 The holy - relationship between the sacred and profane



Holy is associated with religion and prayer and with the things of God. Some thing or place or person is made holy by being blessed or touched in some way by the presence of God. One of the characteristics of all religions is holiness.

Rudolph Otto, a German historian of religion, wrote that the experience of holiness is central to religion. For Otto, the experience of the holy is mysterious and defies literal description. It is the experience of mystery, the sense of otherness, the acceptance that there is a reality that transcends the level of ordinary experience. Feelings of awe and humility are evoked in the worshipper and, for that time, he or she is transported out of the ordinary.

For religious people, the sacred refers to things of God. Holy or sacred people speak on God’s behalf or mediate between the people and God. The profane is all that is not sacred – the things of the world. The distinction between the two is not always clear – in our increasingly secular society institutions that were once considered sacred have gradually become profane, e.g. for many people, marriage is not viewed as a religious covenant, but as a secular, legal agreement. Some would argue that ‘religions’ of our time, such as sport, have introduced new notions of worship and the sacred.


Past Exam Question

Outline how the relationship between the sacred and the profane is expressed in the ways two objects are used in worship by members of a major world religion.


The concept of the holy is connected to our understanding of what is considered ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’. These labels are perhaps best explained by referring to the primal religious idea of mana – the degree to which everything is ‘spiritually charged’. The basic idea is that a spiritual essence resides in all things, but it is stronger is some than others – mana is acquired through interaction with the divine/transcendent. We see this in the contemporary concept of the holy – in Christianity holiness is attained when someone or something is touched by the presence of God. It then retains within it a spiritual significance, an unseen power that is mysterious and defies literal description. An encounter with the holy transports us out of everyday experience, it puts us in touch with a deeper reality, one beyond the bounds of our human comprehension.

Those items which have been touched, and subsequently transformed, by the holy are considered sacred – set aside for religious use. In Judaism and Christianity all human life is considered sacred, as it has been created by God and has an inherent dignity. However both traditions also consider certain objects/places to be sacred – in Christianity these include relics and sites of pilgrimage, and in Judaism the Torah scroll is afforded particular reverence and respect.

The profane is traditionally considered that which is not sacred – it incorporates the world of everyday existence; the ordinary, the mundane. In ancient primal religions there was no sense of the profane – everything held an unseen spiritual quality. In modern religions the profane refers to the things of this world – untouched by God, that retain no transcendent dimension. As our society grows increasingly secular the idea of what is considered profane evolves. Some point to phenomena in modern life, considered profane by religious standards, which have attained a sacred status in secular culture. An example is sport – a communal activity that upholds and reaffirms values. It has a sense of ceremony and ritual that can be seen to replace those of traditional religions.


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