Sacrul între arhetip și istorie: o reflecție fenomenologică
The Sacred between Archetype and History: A phenomenological reflection

Author(s): Alexandru-Corneliu Arion
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion, Other Christian Denominations
Published by: Ideas Forum International Academic and Scientific Association
Keywords: sacred and profane; phenomenology; history; archetype; M. Eliade; dialectics; communion; religious human being; magic; myths; consciousness;
Summary/Abstract: In today’s world, the sacred and the profane coexist, and humanity’s religious task is to uncover the sacred beyond the sensory realm. The sacred, a reality of a different order, manifests through hierophanies and is defined by its opposition to the profane. These two modes of existence (sacred and profane) have shaped human life throughout history, appearing in practices such as magic, ancestor cults, and myths. For Eliade, awareness of the sacred belongs to the structure of human consciousness, not merely to its historical development. Modern individuals, however, often meet sacred manifestations with skepticism, reducing acts like eating or sexuality to mere biology, while archaic humans experienced them as sacraments. Religion, therefore, always presupposes the tension between sacred and profane, for, as Eliade insists, to be fully human is to be religious.

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