Explaining How Places Become Sacred

A sacred place can be almost anywhere. It could be a natural feature like a mountain or river, or something built by people, like a temple or shrine. But what exactly makes a place sacred? Is it something that exists on its own, or is it something we create? Different scholars have different answers to this question.

Eliade

Mircea Eliade, a well known religious scholar, believed that sacred places are not made by people. According to him, sacredness is something that just appears in the world. It shows itself. These places are not chosen or built. They are revealed. Eliade thought that sacred places come from a higher reality that breaks into our everyday world.

Knott

On the other hand, Kim Knott argued the opposite. She said that there is nothing inherently sacred about any place. A place becomes sacred only when people treat it that way. It depends on human actions, events, and meanings. For Knott, sacredness is something we give to a place. It does not exist on its own.

Chidester and Linenthal

Edward Linenthal and David Chidester agreed with Knott. They also believed that sacred places are made, not found. In their view, sacredness is created through history, conflict, memory, and meaning. What is sacred for one group might not be for another, because it is always tied to culture and experience.

Belief and Place

Sacredness does not have a single definition. Some view it as something that appears on its own, while others believe it is created by human experience and meaning. Whether it is a holy mountain or a historical site, a sacred place always holds significance for someone. That meaning can influence how the place is treated and understood by different people or communities.

References

The Open University 2016, educational resource, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, viewed 18 July 2025.