Does a Sacred Place Have to be Religious?

In class last week, we spend the classes introducing examples of a sacred place. Dr. Redick showed us slideshows of trips he had taken with former students. In one specific trip to a sacred place, he visited many “dead” sanctuaries, including Delphi and Santiago. While on that trip, there were many yellow arrows spray-painted along the route to direct hikers on the trail. One significant spot on this hike is on top of a hill, which erects a statue of the Virgin Mary. In Mary’s arms, she is holding Baby Jesus and other trinkets which passing hikers have given her over the years. Alongside the pictures at Santiago, Dr. Redick gave us a brief history of the St. James Cathedral and the history of St. James himself.

Although that trip is sacred for its religious associations, a burning question I had was “can a place be sacred without being religious?” Through class discussion, I saw that a place can be sacred without a religious background, however it can become religious to someone because of the neumanosity it can create.

A place becomes sacred when it brings security and peace to a person. However it can also be a place with such a powerful draw that a person gains the sense of being reborn. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys had agoraphobia, keeping him locked away in his bedroom for years on end. His bedroom then became his sanctuary and sacred place where he felt peace and solitude. On the other hand, Dr. Redick has visited many places where he felt “alive,” one being a waterfall and pool hidden within a series of Hawaiian caves. When he was in the pool, he said he felt a sense of being reborn, even saying the waterfall was “the world’s vagina.”

This cave, for Redick, is transcendent and has its own religious associations. Symbolically, the water flow from the cliffs and onto him signified rebirth, much like the vagina and water breaking to give life. Although this location does not have any real religious affiliation, its neumanosity is strong enough to bring Redick a sense of being connected; the waterfall being an axis mundi, or a conncetion between two worlds.

-Emily Schulz-