The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion

In Chapter 2, Eliade states “Christianity radically changed the experience and the concept of liturgical time, and this is due to the fact that Christianity affirms the historicity of the person of Christ” (72). Do you agree that the historicity of Jesus makes the experience of sacred time unique in Christianity, as opposed to other religions? Explain with references from the text.

Eliade clearly does not believe that homo religiosus is its own unique species of human. Why, then, does Eliade use this term? Explain with references from the text.

Choose one of the following three terms: axis mundi, deus otiosi, imitation dei. Provide a study of this term as it relates to one religious culture of your choosing. How does this culture’s representation of the term relate to Eliade’s theoretical description?

Explain the concept of sacred time in Eliade’s thinking. How does sacred time operate in one example of a myth or ritual from a religion of your choosing? How does this compare to Eliade’s conception of sacred time? Use external sources and citations from Eliade.

In Chapter 2, Eliade suggests that the ontological supremacy of sacred over profane time is not equivalent to a rejection of history or progress, but a reappraisal of historical events of progress as “new divine revelations” (90) made possible by the sacred. Do you agree with this argument? Do religions typically accept human progress as revelations of divine truth, or reject human progress, or both? Use examples from one or multiple religious traditions.

In Chapter 3, Eliade suggests that as human economies change, so too do their religious belief structures: “The divine remoteness actually expresses man’s increasing interest in his own religious, cultural and economic discoveries” (125). Find one external source in the form of an anthropological article which supports this claim and summarize its findings. What more can you add to Eliade’s theory with this case study?

In Chapter 4, Eliade describes the concept and structure of the “rite of passage.” Describe an example of a rite of passage in one religious and one secular setting. How do these rituals differ, if at all, and what does this comparison reveal about the relationship between sacred and secular ontologies?

Explain Eliade’s concept for how religious symbols are created, using examples from the text. What is the significance of these symbols in bridging the sacred and the profane in human experience?