The following are 45 correlates that I’ve collected of things called “sacred”. I invite any of you to offer a theory of the sacred that explains as many of these as you can, as simply as you can. (And to suggests edits of this list.)
- Sacred things are highly (or lowly) valued. We politely revere, respect, & prioritize them.
- We revere sacred beliefs as well as acts. We feel dirty when thoughts go near illicit ones.
- Sacred is big, powerful, extraordinary. We fear, submit, & see it as larger than ourselves.
- Sacred things matter for our health, luck, and other outcomes we care about.
- We want the sacred “for itself”, rather than as a means to get other things.
- Sacred things are either more homogenous, or more unique, whichever is better.
- Sacred induces strong emotions: e.g., awe, joy, serenity, devotion, repulsion, & fear.
- We get emotionally attached to the sacred; our stance toward it is part of our identity.
- We desire to connect with the sacred, and to be more associated with it.
- To approach the sacred, we use self-control to purify ourselves, sacrifice, & commit.
- We enjoy sacrificing for the sacred, to purify, & respect sacred, including via odd beliefs.
- Sacred brings us comfort & consolation in hard times; losing it can feel devastating.
- We affirm & learn sacred via mythic stories & accounts of how we & it fit in a universe.
- We have rules regarding how to approach sacred stuff, in part to protect us.
- The sacred isn’t for use by commoners, or for common purposes.
- Shared views about the sacred bind, define, and distinguish social groups.
- Shared rituals & festivals bind & emotionally charge us, & help us to see sacred.
- We want associates to share our view of and attachment to the sacred.
- We get offended when others seem to deny our sacred views, and respond vigorously.
- We feel more equal to each other regarding sacred things; status matters less there.
- Either everyone (e.g. love) or very few (e.g. medicine) are entitled to opinions on sacred.
- Charismatic leaders motivate, get acceptance in part via appeals, connections to sacred.
- Experts of the sacred are more prestigious & trusted, get more job security.
- Sacrificing for the sacred is seen as pro-social.
- Sacred things are sharply set apart and distinguished from the ordinary, mundane.
- Sacred things do not fit well with our animal natures, such as self-interest, competition.
- We dislike mixing sacred and mundane things together.
- We dislike money prices of sacred, & trades that get more mundane via less sacred.
- We dislike for-profit orgs of the sacred, relative to non-profits or government agencies.
- Sacred things feel less limited by physics, & can seem to have unlimited possibilities.
- Sacred things really matter, fill deepest needs, complete us, make us pure, make all one.
- Sacred things last longer, and decay or break less. Sometimes eternal and unchanging.
- Sacred things are purer and cleaner, and closer to the ultimate core of existence.
- Sacred things have fewer random coincidences; their patterns mean something.
- Sacred things have fewer value conflicts with each other; you can have them all at once.
- It is harder to judge the relative value of sacred things, compared to mundane things.
- We understand the sacred poorly using cognitive rational analysis, or numbers.
- We understand the sacred better using intuition, flow, and creativity.
- How sacred things seem is less misleading; you can more trust their appearances.
- The sacred is mysterious, unlikely and even inconsistent. Who are we to question it?
- Sacred makes us stand outside ourselves, feel ecstasy, transcendence, different reality.
- We do not make or control the sacred, it makes and transforms us.
- Stuff (objects, dates, people, words, sounds) that touches the sacred gets sacred itself.
- We connect to sacred themes better via contact with sacred stuff.
- Over time, things that we often connect to tend to become sacred via nostalgia.
My attempt is described here.
loading...