THE SACRED AND THE

PROFANE
The concepts of ‘sacred and prafane’ are central to Durkhelm’stheory of religion.
Accounting to him, all aspects of Human experience can be divided into two radically and
diametrically opposed categories: the sacred and the profance.

What is the nature of the sacred?

Durkheim says that the sacred is ideal and transcends ‘everyday existence, it is extra-
ordinary, potentially dangerous, awe-inspiring, fear-inducing. The sacred, for Durkheim,
refers to things set special religious treatment. The sacred has extra-ordinary,
supernatural, and often dangerous qualities and can usually be approached only through
some form of ritual, such as prayer, incantation, or ceremonials cleansing. Almost
anything can be sacred: a god, a rock: a cross, the moon, the earth, a king, a tree, an
animal or bird, or a symbol, such as swastika. These are sacred only because some
community has marked them as sacred. Once established as ‘scared’, however, they
become symbols of religious beliefs, sentiments and practices.

What is the profane?

The profane is mundane, that is, anything ordinary. It is part of the ordinary realm rather
than the supernatural world. The profane or ordinary or ‘unholy’ embraces “those ideas,
persons, practices, and things that are regarded with an everyday attitude of
commonness, utility and familiarity”. It is that which is not supposed to come into
contact with or take precedence over the sacred. The ‘unholy’ or the ‘profane’ is also
believed to contaminate the ‘holy’ or ‘sacred’. ‘it is dental or sub-ordination of the holy in
some way. The attitudes and behavior toward it are charged with negative emotions and
hedged about by strong taboos” – (Kingsley Davis). A rock, the moon, a king, a tree or a

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symbol may be considered profane. It means something becomes sacred or profane only
when it is socially defined as such by a community of believers.

The sacred and the profane are closely related because of the highly emotional attitude
towards them. The distinction between the two is not very much clear, but ambiguous.
As Durkheim has pointed out, ‘the circle of sacred objects cannot be determined, then,
once and for all. Its extent varies indefinitely according to different religions”. The
significance of the sacred lies in the fact of its distinction from the profane: ‘the sacred
thing is par excellence that which profaned should not touch and cannot touch with
impurity.” Man always draws this distinction of the two orders in different times and
place. Participation in the sacred order, for example, in rituals and ceremonies, gives a
special social prestige, which actually reveals one of the social functions of religion.
“Mechanisms are established by all religions for keeping these two worlds (sacred and
proface) from communication with one another. One result of this segregation is that the
sacred cannot be questioned or challenged by the profance. The sacred can remain fixed
or stable to the degree that it succeeds in insulation itself from the secular or profance.
Breaches of this segregation are treated as sacrilegious or heretical and may be dealt
with by a wide range of sanctions” – Bernard S.Phillips writes in his book, ‘sociology-
social structure and change’.

Nature and qualities of the sacred

Metta spencer and Alex inkeles have enlisted seven qualities of the sacred as described
Durkheim. They are:

(i) The sacred is recognized as a power or force,

(ii) It is characterized by ambiguity in that, it is both physical and moral, human
and cosmic,
(iii) It is not-utilitarian,
(iv) It is non-empirical
(v) It does not involve knowledge of any rational or scientific character,
(vi) It strengthens and supports worshippers and
(vii) It makes moral demand on the believer and worshiper.

The sacred quality is not intrinsic to objects but is conferred on them by religious through
and feeling. ‘the sacred does not help one to manipulate natural forces and it useless in
practical ----- it is not even and experience based on knowledge and the senses, but
involves a definite break was the everyday world”

God-as sacred, the sacred may be a supernatural being, that is god. Those who believe in
one god are monotheists. More than 985 million Christians, 14.5 million jewsans 471
million muslims are monotheists. Those who worship more than one god are polytheists,
say, the hindus, whose number exceeds 472 millions.

Ghost as sacred. Gods are not along among the sacred. Many worship the sacred ghost
or ancestor spirit. Such spirits are also believed to possess superhuman qualities. But they
are of human origin rather than of divine. Shintoism, for example, with its more than 60
million followers (Mostlyl found in Japan) is based on reverence towards family
ancestors,.
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Moral or philosophical principle as sacred. A Moral or philosophical principle can also be
sacred. For example, the Asian religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism- all
stress the importance of certain ethical and spiritual ideals. Buddhism is more concerned
with Buddha’s message of ‘four noble truths’ than with him as the god. Similarly, more
importance is laid on the ‘Eight-fold path’ to attain ‘nirvana’ a state of spiritual
detachment.

Totem as the sacred: totems are another example of Durkheim’s “Sacred things”. The
totemic object-an animal or plant-is worshipped by primitive people all over the world.
The totem is a symbol, a treasury of deep group- based sentiments and feelings. It is
worshipped as a god or as an ancestor, or both, and it generally possesses some special
quality or significance for the religious community.

Supernatural force as sacred. A supernatural force is still another example of a sacred

thing although it has shape of its own. Example: on certain islands of Oceania, a warrior
successful in battle while using a particular spear will attribute his victory to ‘mana’- A
supernatural force that entered his spear. The supernatural force, on the whole, may be
good or bad.

Thus, whether be it a force, or a god, a ghost, a moral principle, or a totemic object- all
are elements of Durkheim’s definition of religion. All are forms of the sacred and all bear
witness to the existence of religious behavior,.

“to what do the sacred symbols of religious belief and practice refer?” –Durkheim asks.
Durkheim is of the opinion that ‘they cannot refer to the external environment or to
individual human nature but only to the moral reality of society. The source and object of
religion are the collective life, the sacred is at bottom society personified” – Dr.Timasheff

Thus, according to Durkheim, man’s attitudes towards God and society are more or less
similar. Both “inspire the sensation of divinity, both possess moral authority and
stimulate devotion, self-sacrifice and exceptional individual behavior. The individual who
feels dependent on some external moral power is not, therefore, a victim of hallucination
but a member of and responding to society itself. Durkheim concludes that the
substantial function of religion is the creation, reinforcement and maintenance of society
solidarity. So long as society persists so will religion”. Dr-. Timasheff.

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