The Sacred and the Profane analyzes a wide variety of components that are found within various world religions. Eliade uses the history of religion to support his ideas as the the book itself is a brief introduction to religion as a whole, particulary the religions of primitive societies. Nonetheless, when looking to the past one can see that mankind’s desire to associate itself with the sacred has been occuring for thousands of years. From temples to passages of intiation, religious man is a unique microcosm that follows and repeats the structure of the religious macrocosm, the creation of the cosmos.
One can conclude that Eliade views religion as the “paradigmatic solution for every existential crisis. ” (p210) and furthermore, the solution that bridges the gap between this world and another, giving meaning and purpose to the profane existential life of mankind. From this standpoint, it can be determined that the belief of the sacred, specifically the paradigmatic making of the cosmos, does indeed set the framework for religious life in this world via sacred space, time, and experiences. Space according to Eliade, can either be heterogeneous or homogenous.
For the profane nonreligious man, it is obviously an endless homogenous plane with little meaning but for the religious man, it proves to be a sacred heterogeneous plane. Sacred space is founded on the idea of the cosmos emerging from the primordial chaos via the power of the gods. Religious man’s need to be in an “organized world” (p44) facilitates this notion of the cosmos being created and the establishing of sacred spaces to worship gods. Along with this, the desire to be at a specific part of the world sees humans choosing to be closer to their gods from the area which they believe the world was created, the center.
The Essay on Analysis of the Six Major World Religions
World religions are religions that are not only widely known but are also contrived of millions of worshipers. The six most popular world religions; Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are practiced by at least four billion people alone, almost three- fourths of the world's population. These religions have many similarities among them, involving their practices, ...
Sacred spaces take shape from there, representing some form of identification to the gods and the heavens. Temples, altars, churches and similar structures are built to serve as sacred areas, particularly as a means to communicate with gods and to be in their presence. The want to be closer and within contact of the gods also extends to the foundation and settling of towns and villages, repeating the original creation of the cosmos. Building a mere house or dwelling symbolizes the cosmic creation again as it displays man’s religious want to be at the center of the world and nearer to his gods.
Everything made or constructed is modeled after the forming of the cosmos, and thus evolves from the center outward. Sacred space then for mankind is “ritually reactualizing the paradigmatic act of Creation. ” (p64) The overall function would be the acknowledgement of a real apprehensible world, made possible by the gods, and to recreate it, be it through a temple designed specifically to communicate with gods or within an individual’s home. Sacred space provides an area that is a tangible part of the cosmos yet also repeats the creation myth, tying mankind together with the gods.
sacred time then follows the creation of the cosmos and the moment upon which all life began and rose from the primordial chaos. Religious festivals and ceremonies symbolize this birth of the cosmos, specifically the celebration of the New Year. The annual repetition of creation (p77) symbolizes death and rebirth, a changing from old to new. When religious man participates in this event, he too becomes associated with the moment upon which the cosmos are again formed for the New Year by the gods and for he too is also born anew. p80) He is free of previous faults and his rebirth echoes that of the original cosmogonic myth. Festivals, ceremonies, and even pilgrimages help reiterate this idea, emphasizing on themes of rebirth, renewal, and keeping alive the cosmogonic myth as well as other myths and events which the gods and culture heroes did in the past. Repeating them again allows man to be closer to his gods and man’s nostalgia for the “time of origin. ” (p94) This signifies a want to live alongside the gods, mainly around the time of creation when the world was pure and new.
The Essay on Life And Death God Man Earth
Although both the Ancient Egyptians and the Book of Genesis linked the creation of time with divinity, their relationship towards each other and the distinctions between the two differ. In Genesis God is the creator of time and stands apart from it. The Egyptians saw their gods as a part of eternity and the unending cycle of life and death. Ra was the God that first went through this process. He ...
The participation in these events and overall repetition enforces the religious content and provides an optimistic vision of existence and eventual transcendence for the participant. It provides a break from a temporal and profane duration of time and into a sacred time of importance and meaning for a religion and its followers. Religious experience then would fall into the personal realm of man himself and how he perceives the world around him. Nature provides a chief component in primitive religious man’s view of the cosmos and his gods.
The sky houses the gods, remote although it may be, natural phenomenon such as thunder and rain gave primitive and early religious man the reasoning to place his gods above him in the intangible heavens as such natural occurrences were due in part to the supernatural beings dwelling in the skies. Alongside the sky, the observation of the transition of the moon and sun (night and day) signify death and rebirth. Water too plays a symbolic part in human experience and although it has a powerful capability to destroy life, it also reiterates the cosmogonic cycle, especially with the practice of baptism where water renews life. p132) Earth itself is also linked to the human experience of child birth with females. The idea of a “Terra Mater” or mother earth (p138) symbolizes the idea of the earth reproducing its vegetation-based life in comparison to the experience of mother giving birth of her children. Physiological acts such as the sexual union of humans also is displayed in the religious forming of the natural world, the joining of both heaven (man) and earth (woman).
The Essay on Myths And Religion
Myth’s and Religion Given what we know about “how,” and the “why” of myths. When does it become real or one’s beliefs? When does it become as plain as a cup of water? Where you can see that there is water in the cup and nothing else. Magic is only a form of trickery or illusional bends in the truth. Religion on the other hand becomes something stronger in that ...
The human body too with its physiological experiences also can be applied as a symbol to the cosmogonic myth.
As in some Indian religions the spinal column represents the cosmic pillar and the heart or navel as the center of the world, all of which are previously established ideas that connect back to the cosmogonic myth. (p173) The anticipation and experience surrounding death also brings about unique beliefs that relate back to the cosmogonic myth of creation. Burials within the soil bring about the “religious experience of autochthony” (p140) along with rebirth and ensuring a continuation of the cycle of life.
Other religions relate this with the idea that the deceased ascend to the sky, considering some rituals consist of cutting holes in the roof of a dwelling to allow souls to pass on through. (p179) Sacred experience also manifests itself in various rites of passage and initiation processes. Men and women’s societies combine religious elements with physiological experiences such as puberty and birth. Initiation and death also has this structure with the ultimate goal being rebirth after an individual has left this life after their death.
They all follow the same structure of the cosmogonic myth in that it produces a spiritual rebirth, be it after a group initiation or the end of life itself. “Man constantly re-performs the cosmogony” (p197) and as such, will earn a new birth as result from their religion. Sacred space, time, and experience basically all compliment each other in that they follow the same structure of the cosmogonic myth. A continual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is prevalent in all major religions.
Sacred space connects humans with their gods via physical buildings, temples, towns, and other structures. The creation of sacred space is a microcosm to the bigger macrocosm of the cosmogonic myth. Sacred time emphasizes the “origin of time”, the moment the cosmos were created and the desire to celebrate and continue the rebirth of the New Year. Festivals and rituals help keep the myths alive as well as keeping humans synched in time with their gods via the myth. Sacred experiences then add the personal element to connecting with the gods and following the creation myths.
This includes elements of nature, physiological experiences, and rites of passages on an individual level to bolster one’s spiritual life with the desired end result being a transcending rebirth. The functions they serve all essentially go directly back to the cosmogonic myth which provides the crucial framework for primitive religions and a foundation for modern religions too. The idea of having sacred space, time, and experiences gives a heightened sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to a religion.
The Essay on Role Of Myth In Religion
Anthropology 166 Role of Myth in Religion Industrial society has no body of shared beliefs, no common mythology. Its members hold onto a collection of disconnected beliefs and are vaguely familiar with fragments of many myths. The advantage that some new religions have in this situation is that they possess powerful connected mythologies that have ancient experiences. The mythologies of new ...
