Rostova, N. N. On the Contradictions of the ‘Sacral and Secular’ Structure

Abstract: The author of the article analyzes the ‘sacral and secular’ opposition that is traditionally used by European researchers when describing religious phenomena and creating theories of the sacral. This opposition has such deep roots in the Western mind that it caused contradictions which was left unnoticed even for researchers themselves. Today it is difficult to find a European researcher who would not use such a similar theoretical instrument. Moreover, most of Russian researchers also take this opposition as a definite axiom. Separating facts from theory, the author emphasizes the problems related to using the ‘sacral and secular’ opposition. These problems include the contradiction between the local cult offered by the opposition and searches for the possibility of the ‘total existence’ lying in the basis of theories of the sacral. As an argument, the author analyzes peculiarities of the religious consciousness based on the example of Christianity. Being ‘total’ by nature, religious consciousness cannot be explained by the ‘sacral-secular’ opposition that assumes there are two completely irreducible spheres which questions the adequacy of the opposition or, at least, the universal application of it. Another problem is the transition between the two spheres. The author opposes the Russian tradition solving this problem by conceptualization of the terms ‘mystery’ and ‘cult’ to the European tradition which does not focus on that problem at all. According to the author, the reason why European researchers leave the ‘transition’ problem unattended is the ‘hidden’ anthropology which is based on the model of the ‘immanent human’.

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