The Concept of the Sacred

Harriet Lutzky offers a groundbreaking psychoanalytic study of the sacred as a secular concept, exploring how the sacred functions as that which is 'set apart' from the profane or everyday, and revealing the universal psychological mechanisms.

The book begins by examining hypothetical wholeness of being, exemplified by Spinoza's equation of God with Nature. It then explores the concept of splitting, drawing on Durkheim's anthropological theory and Fairbairn's psychoanalytic framework to show how what is split off from ordinary experience becomes designated as sacred. Subsequent chapters investigate ritual as the means by which humans attempt to heal the breach between sacred and profane, analyzing this reparative process through psychoanalytic concepts of reparation and comparing it with the Kabbalistic notion of tikkun. The work traces the etymological roots of 'sacred' (Latin sacer, from sek meaning 'set apart') and Hebrew qadosh ('cut off'), demonstrating the universal psychological foundation of sacred experience across cultures.

This book is essential for scholars and practitioners in psychoanalysis, religious studies, psychology of religion, anthropology and cultural studies. It serves academics seeking to understand religious phenomena through psychological frameworks, psychoanalysts interested in the cultural dimensions of splitting and reparation, and anyone exploring the intersection of depth psychology and collective culture beyond traditional religious contexts.