How are the sacred and the profane seen in the world—and in religion? Are they separate or intertwined? Here are the views of Emile Durkheim, Rudolf Otto, Father Greeley, Peter Berger and others.

1. The Sacred and Profane
in Religion

2. Externalization
Creating Symbols
Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy
Objectification
Internalization

3. Structure - resistant to change
Structure and Process in Religion
Process - action and
movement
Roberts, Religion in Sociological Perspective

4. We have profound impact on each other
Symbolic Interaction Theory
Act on basis of meaning
Meanings derived through interaction
Symbols have meaning beyond
themselves
Roberts, Religion in Sociological Perspective

5. Ambiguous
situations
Social Construction of Reality
Roberts, Religion in Sociological Perspective
Look to each other for
definitions
We ‘construct’ reality

6. Emile Durkheim
1858 - 1917

7. Sacred - religion
Sacred and Profane
Profane - everything else

8. Sacred Realm
Profane
SymbolsRituals

9. Sacred Realm

10. Rudolf Otto
1869 - 1937

11. mysterium tremendum et fascinans
the mysterious, tremendous, and fascinating
The Holy

12. provokes awe and fear
unapproachable
power, energy, urgency
wholly ‘otherness’
fascination and attraction
The Holy

13. experience of the Holy

14. Andrew Greeley
1928 -

15. What we value we raise
to the level of the sacred

16. meaningful interpretation of events
need for relatedness with others
The Sacred Experience

17. intensity
frequency
Non-rational religious experiences vary:
context
content
Those who value them, have them

18. “The totality of human products.”
Culture
Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy
“Religion is the attempt to see the
universe as humanly significant.”
Religion

19. References
Berger, Peter (1967). The Sacred Canopy. NY: Random House.
Roberts, Keith (2000). Religion in Sociological Perspective.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

20. Entelechy Productions (2013)