Sacralization: Etymology/Term, Meanings and Concept
Sacralization: Etymology/Term
The term “sacralization” stems from the word “sacral,” derived from “sacred,” and the suffix “-ization,” denoting the process or act of making something. Together, sacralization refers to the transformation or elevation of secular entities, practices, or spaces into sacred or religious significance. This term is often used in various fields, including sociology, anthropology, and religious studies, to describe the imbuing of mundane elements with spiritual or holy attributes.
Meanings and Concept
- Transformation of the Profane: Sacralization involves the conversion of secular or profane entities, such as objects, spaces, or rituals, into sacred or holy symbols with spiritual significance.
- Cultural and Social Processes: It encompasses cultural and social processes through which individuals or societies attribute sacredness to certain aspects of life, often influenced by religious beliefs, traditions, or societal norms.
- Ritual and Symbolism: Sacralization is often manifested through rituals and symbolic practices that reinforce the perceived sacredness of particular objects, places, or behaviors.
- Power Dynamics: It can reflect power dynamics within societies, as the sacralization of certain institutions or figures may serve to legitimize authority and maintain social order.
Sacralization: Definition of a Theoretical Term
Sacralization is a sociological term describing the process by which secular elements, such as objects, practices, or institutions, take on characteristics traditionally associated with the sacred or religious. This can manifest through the use of elevated language, ritualistic behaviors, strict value systems, or the reverence granted to certain figures or ideas. Sacralization highlights the continued influence of religious modes of thinking and social structures within seemingly secular contexts.
Sacralization: Theorists, Works and Arguments
Key Theorists
- Émile Durkheim
- Work: The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
- Argument: Durkheim posits that religion’s fundamental role is the creation and maintenance of social cohesion. Sacred objects, rituals, and beliefs unite a collective, establishing a shared sense of meaning and order. Sacralization can be seen as an extension, whereby secular elements acquire this power to bind and structure society.
- Peter Berger
- Work: The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion
- Argument: Berger argues that religion constructs an overarching framework of meaning and order, a “sacred canopy” shielding society from existential questions. Processes of secularization potentially weaken this canopy, prompting the sacralization of secular elements to provide a continued sense of stability and purpose.
- Mircea Eliade
- Work: The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion
- Argument: For Eliade, the fundamental distinction lies between the sacred (infused with otherworldly power or significance) and the profane (the realm of the ordinary). Sacralization complicates this distinction, elevating elements of the profane realm to a higher, quasi-sacred status.
- Max Weber
- Work: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- Argument: Weber famously linked the values of the Protestant work ethic – discipline, industriousness, thrift – to the rise and legitimization of capitalist economic systems. This exemplifies sacralization, demonstrating the potential for religious ideals to shape and infuse meaning into secular practices.
Additional Considerations
- Evolving Terminology: These theorists laid pivotal groundwork for understanding processes related to sacralization, even if the specific term wasn’t always explicitly employed.
- Contemporary Scholarship: The field is ever-evolving. Sociologists, cultural theorists, and religious studies scholars continue to explore and apply the concept of sacralization in diverse modern contexts.
Sacralization: Major Characteristics
- Transformation of the Mundane: Sacralization involves the elevation of ordinary objects, spaces, or activities to a higher, sacred status. In literature, this can be seen in the transformation of seemingly mundane events or items into symbols of profound significance. For example, in One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the daily activities and events in the fictional town of Macondo are often imbued with mystical and symbolic meaning, reflecting a sacralized view of life.
- Ritual and Symbolism: Sacralization often entails the use of rituals and symbolism to reinforce the perceived sacredness of certain elements. In literary works, rituals and symbols can serve as powerful narrative devices to convey deeper meanings and themes. For instance, in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys’ ritualistic behavior around the conch shell symbolizes their evolving social order and the emergence of authority in their isolated society.
- Cultural and Social Context: The process of sacralization is influenced by cultural and social factors, including religious beliefs, traditions, and societal norms. Literary works often reflect these influences, portraying how characters or societies assign sacredness to certain aspects of their world based on their cultural and social context. In Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, the protagonist’s journey is intertwined with the cultural and religious history of India, showcasing the sacralization of national identity and historical narratives.
- Power Dynamics and Authority: Sacralization can also reflect power dynamics and the legitimation of authority within societies. In literature, the sacralization of certain individuals or institutions often serves to uphold existing power structures or challenge them. For example, in 1984 by George Orwell, the sacralization of Big Brother and the Party’s ideology reinforces their authoritarian control over society, while the protagonist’s rebellion represents a challenge to this sacralized authority.
Sacralization: Relevance in Literary Theories
| Literary Theory | Relevance of Sacralization | Example Application |
| Formalism and New Criticism: | Sacralization examines how the language and forms used to describe secular phenomena can elevate them to a level of importance typically reserved for religious contexts. | Analyzing the stylized, almost reverent descriptions of consumer goods in The Great Gatsby reveals hints of the novel’s critique of materialism. |
| Reader-Response Theory: | Examines how readers might imbue texts, authors, or literary concepts with a quasi-sacred importance, shaping their interpretation and experience. | Exploring the near-religious devotion some readers have to certain genres or authors. |
| Marxist Criticism: | Considers how systems of power and ideology (e.g., capitalism, consumerism) can be portrayed with elements of the sacred, reinforcing their societal dominance. | Investigating the portrayal of technology and progress as unquestionable forces in works of science fiction. |
| Psychoanalytic Criticism: | Analyzes the potential for unconscious drives, desires, or repressed experiences to be projected onto secular figures or concepts, granting them symbolic and emotional power akin to the sacred. | Examining how an idealized concept of “home” in literature can reveal societal anxieties and deep-seated longings. |
| Postcolonial Criticism: | Explores how the sacralization of Western ideals, institutions, and even language can perpetuate forms of cultural or ideological dominance. | Analyzing how characters in postcolonial literature might resist or subvert the elevated status granted to the colonizer’s culture or values. |
Sacralization: Application in Critiques
· The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
- Sacralization is evident in the Puritanical society’s treatment of the scarlet letter, where the letter “A” becomes a sacralized symbol of sin and redemption, shaping the characters’ identities and societal perceptions.
- Hawthorne critiques the sacralization of moral judgment and societal norms, portraying the destructive consequences of rigid religious beliefs and the hypocrisy of those who enforce them.
· One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez:
- Sacralization permeates the narrative as Marquez depicts the fictional town of Macondo, where ordinary events and objects are imbued with magical realism, reflecting a sacralized view of life and history.
- Marquez explores the sacralization of memory and heritage, as characters grapple with the weight of their family’s past and the cyclical nature of time, highlighting the interplay between myth and reality.
· Lord of the Flies by William Golding:
- Sacralization is seen in the boys’ ritualistic treatment of the conch shell, which becomes a sacralized symbol of authority and order in their isolated society.
- Golding critiques the sacralization of power and civilization, depicting how the breakdown of social order leads to the erosion of moral values and the emergence of primal instincts.
Sacralization: Relevant Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Sacred | Set apart from the ordinary, possessing special qualities, imbued with significance or power often (but not always) associated with the divine. |
| Profane | Belonging to the ordinary, mundane realm. |
| Ritual | Formalized, symbolic actions often with a repetitive nature, sometimes carrying cultural or religious significance. |
| Symbolism | The use of objects, images, or words to represent deeper concepts or ideas. |
| Reverence | Deep respect, awe, or veneration. |
| Ideology | A system of beliefs, values, and assumptions that shape how an individual or society understands the world. |
| Narrative | The storytelling or representation of events and experiences. |
| Legitimation | The process of justifying or giving authority to a power structure, institution, or idea. |
| Social Cohesion | The sense of unity, shared values, and collective identity within a group or society. |
| Secularization | The process of decline in the influence of religion on society and institutions. |
Sacralization: Suggested Readings
- Asad, Talal. Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford University Press, 2003.
- Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Translated by Sheila Faria Glaser, University of Michigan Press, 1994.
- Bellah, Robert N. “Civil Religion in America.” Daedalus, vol. 96, no. 1, 1967, pp. 1-21.
- Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Illuminations: Essays and Reflections, edited by Hannah Arendt, translated by Harry Zohn, Schocken Books, 1968, pp. 217-251.
- Casanova, José. Public Religions in the Modern World. University of Chicago Press, 1994.
- Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. Translated by Ken Knabb, Black & Red, 2014.
- Lincoln, Bruce. Holy Terrors: Thinking About Religion After September 11th. 2nd ed., University of Chicago Press, 2006.
- Meyer, Birgit, editor. Aesthetic Formations: Media, Religion, and the Senses. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
- Meyer, John W., et al. “World Society and the Nation-State.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 103, no. 1, 1997, pp. 144-181.
- Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Belknap Press, 2007.
