Secular Sacredness: Concept and Sociocultural Practices
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines secular sacredness as an independent and self-sufficient phenomenon of the modern sociocultural space. The content and specificity of secular sacredness are analyzed in comparison with the religious manifestations of this phenomenon. It is established that the secular mode of sacredness includes the activity of a subject belong to the immanent world. This gives rise to a unique process of sacralization of object in real sociocultural spheres, embodied in a variety of variants. In accordance with the characteristics of secular sacralization, it forms a distinctive transcendence as a sphere of existence for sublime images conveying the value- semantic significance of objects sacralized in secular space. The independent existence of secular sacredness does not preclude its interaction with religious sacredness, giving rise to various combinations of the two. Verification of the theoretical presented in the text was carried out through reference to systemic (“civil religion”), artifactual (Eternal Flame) and activity-based (state national holiday) variants of the embodiment of secular sacredness in sociocultural practices.
Source: Челябинский гуманитарий
Author: S.S. SOKOVIKOV
Institution: Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7154752175