Abstract

FERNANDEZ HART SJ, Rafael. Lost Holiness: A Critical Review of the Sacred. Cuest. teol. [online]. 2019, vol.46, n.105, pp.101-123. ISSN 0120-131X.  https://doi.org/10.18566/cueteo.v46n105.a04.

The sacred has been considered a fundamental category to study and understand religions. Such starting point has led to consider that even religions that lack an idea of divinity, keep their sacred dimension. This article re-considers the sacred with the purpose of showing some difficulties this category might face when used to get into the ethical-spiritual sense of religions. Therefore, aiming at a better understanding of religions, the article dismantles the category of the sacred and reactivates that of holiness. The latter not only guarantees an approach to religions, but also makes possible to understand why spirituality frequently appears in contemporary scenarios. Thus, the article delves into the cultural ramifications and manifestations of the sacred and provides a critique of sacred reality to philosophically develop the concept of holiness. The latter explains better what religions are.

Keywords : Sacred; Holy; Holiness; Spirituality; Infinite.

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