sacredness

Sacredness refers to the quality of being considered sacred—set apart, worthy of reverence, or devoted to a deity or supra-human power. It denotes something that commands respect, ritual attention, or moral seriousness beyond ordinary use. The nature of what is sacred is culturally variable but frequently linked to religious beliefs, moral ideals, or ultimate concerns.

In many traditions, sacredness is communicated through separation and prohibition (taboo) and through ceremonies that mark transitions, judgments, or acts of devotion. Sacred objects, places, times, and persons are often treated with ritual purity, keeping, or ritual language.

The scholarly literature treats sacredness as a social and symbolic phenomenon. Emile Durkheim linked the sacred to collective beliefs that unify communities. Mircea Eliade highlighted hierophanies—manifestations of the sacred in the world. Rudolf Otto described the experience as mysterium tremendum et fascinans.

Sacredness is expressed in diverse forms: temples, mosques, churches, shrines; relics, icons, scriptures; rites of passage, pilgrimages, and liturgies; calendar events and seasons; and, in some contexts, secular domains such as national symbols, human rights, or scientific achievements that inspire reverence.

In modern plural societies, sacredness can be contested or redefined, and secularization debates examine how sacred meanings endure or migrate to secular spheres. The construct remains a focal point for religion, ethics, aesthetics, and identity.