Adjectives with a Greater Cause

The Sacred and the Profane. If you type the words into the search bar on the New York Times website, an extensive list of articles appears. The great dichotomy seems to be used to categorize nearly every topic nowadays: including trends in fashion, art, technology, and movies. As these terms: “sacred” and “profane” are thrown around so liberally, we distance ourselves from their original meaning, and the words lose their gravity. Before reading Historian Mircea Eliade’s prominent book, I had a loose understanding of the words. I interpreted them as mere synonyms for the words good and bad.

Using space and time to demonstrate their true meaning and connotations, Eliade reveals the concept of “the sacred” and “the profane.” Eliade says that for the religious man, there are differences in the spaces and times that he finds himself living in. The distinction is created by whether the place and the event are sacred or not. People choose Sacred spaces intentionally. Many religions define these spaces by having a center or being located at a center. Everywhere else is a chaotic wilderness. Eliade recalls many ideologies, ranging from the obscure to the widely known, that use a pole to define a connection between the divine and mortal worlds within their sacred space (Eliade 37). The sacred and the profane also divides time for the religious man. Rituals that may seem meaningless to an outsider demonstrate the value of time in across religions. For example, in Judaism, it is believed that time has a beginning and an end. Therefore, all historical events have value and the world does not need to be ritually renewed each year (110).

Armed with a greater understanding of how the sacred and the profane divides time and space for many religions, I feel a deeper respect for the general concept of religion. Eliade proves that religion is a way to rationalize and organize the world for millions of people. Therefore their sacred spaces and rituals should be respected. By understanding this, I believe that universally, there will be an increased tolerance and harmonious coexistence between different faiths including secularity. Although the words “sacred” and “profane” have been sensationalized, studying their true meaning points to a greater cause. We can choose to live a religious life or a nonreligious life while being respectful of the choices of others.


Works Cited

Sacred Space and Making the World Sacred”, "Sacred Time and Myths".The Sacred and the Profane the Nature of Religion, by Mircea Eliade, Harcourt Brace, 1959.