Holiness

Holiness is a quality of being sacred, set apart for a divine purpose, and often associated with moral purity. In religious usage, it denotes both the transcendence of the divine and the moral standard expected of adherents, and in many traditions it implies separation from the ordinary or profane. The word derives from Old English halig, from Germanic roots, and is related to sanctus in Latin and kedushah in Hebrew, all conveying the idea of separation and reverence. In common usage, holiness can refer to a deity, a sacred object, or a person's virtuous character, as well as to the practice of consecrating persons or places.

Judaism emphasizes God's absolute holiness and the call for humans to imitate that holiness through worship, ethical conduct, and ritual purity. The Hebrew Bible repeatedly presents holiness as both a divine attribute and a standard for behavior, with Leviticus framing holiness as the foundational ethical obligation: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Christianity views holiness as an attribute of God and as a goal for believers. God is holy in nature, and through the Holy Spirit believers are gradually sanctified, growing in righteousness and devotion. The term sanctification encompasses both the act of being made holy and the process of living a holy life; different traditions emphasize different aspects, including divine imputation of holiness and personal moral transformation.

In Islam, God is described as al-Quddus (The Holy), and humans pursue purity (tahara) and righteousness, viewing sanctity as a quality grounded in submission to God and ethical conduct.

Other traditions and secular language use holiness to denote moral integrity or things set apart for special purposes. The concept remains central to debates about purity, ethics, and the nature of the sacred.