Religion and the Experience of the Holy from the Point of View of Mircea Eliade

Subject Areas : Christianity

Mehdi Lakzaei ¹ (استادیار دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب قم، ایران)

Received: 2015-11-12 Accepted : 2015-11-12 Published : 2015-07-23

Keywords: Mircea Eliade, the Holy, Nature, History, Myth, religious experience,

Abstract :

Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) was one of the most outstanding scholars on religious studies, mythology and symbolism. He wrote a number of important works on subjects such as yoga and shamanism, morphology and general types of religious experience. He also had some important theories on the Holy and special function of religion. In his view, bringing about of the encounter of man and the Holy is the main function of religion and religious rituals as a whole. Religion helps man to recognize manifestations of the Holy in nature and History. Primitive man had a special talent in discovering the Holy in nature, so much so that for him all nature was the mainfestation of the Holy, while for the Hebrews it was manifested in history rather than nature. In this view, the Holy shows himself in the ups and downs of history, which in turn brings about considerable consequences.