Sacred Contagion
Encyclopedia
Sacred contagion is the belief that spiritual properties within an object, place, or person may be passed to another object, place, or person, usually by direct contact or physical proximity. While the concept of sacred contagion has existed in numerous cultures since before recorded history, the term "sacred contagion" originated with French sociologist Émile Durkheim
, who introduced it in his book The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
An example of sacred contagion is chapters 11 through 15 in the Book of Leviticus found in the Bible and Torah. Leviticus specifies which animals are considered spiritually clean and unclean, and defines as unclean both women during menstruation
and men after a nocturnal emission
. The text gives many examples of sacred contagion brought about by contact with these spiritually unclean people and things. As a specific example, in chapter 15 states that spiritual uncleanliness exists not only in the menstruating woman but the bed she sleeps in, as well as any object placed upon that bed, and any person who touches an object placed upon that bed. We see not only the passing of uncleanliness through spiritual contagion, but also that the uncleanliness may be further passed, from person to object and back to person indefinitely.
Anthropologist Mary Douglas
, whose work is heavily influenced by Durkheim, wrote an extensive modern work on the topic of sacred contagion entitled Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo
. She states that, "We cannot understand sacred contagion unless we distinguish a class of cultures in which pollution ideas flourish from another class of cultures, including our own, in which they do not." Douglas and Durkheim both rejected the idea that concepts of purity and impurity, such as those found in Leviticus, were an attempt to use religion to explain hygiene, an otherwise impossible task in the scientific terms of the time, several millennium before the concept of germs
. Instead, according to Douglas and Durkheim, spiritual cleanliness and physical cleanliness are wholly separate and must be considered on their own terms.
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
, who introduced it in his book The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
An example of sacred contagion is chapters 11 through 15 in the Book of Leviticus found in the Bible and Torah. Leviticus specifies which animals are considered spiritually clean and unclean, and defines as unclean both women during menstruation
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
and men after a nocturnal emission
Nocturnal emission
A nocturnal emission involves either ejaculation during sleep for a male, or lubrication of the vagina for a female. It is also called a wet dream, and is sometimes considered a type of spontaneous orgasm....
. The text gives many examples of sacred contagion brought about by contact with these spiritually unclean people and things. As a specific example, in chapter 15 states that spiritual uncleanliness exists not only in the menstruating woman but the bed she sleeps in, as well as any object placed upon that bed, and any person who touches an object placed upon that bed. We see not only the passing of uncleanliness through spiritual contagion, but also that the uncleanliness may be further passed, from person to object and back to person indefinitely.
Anthropologist Mary Douglas
Mary Douglas
Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
, whose work is heavily influenced by Durkheim, wrote an extensive modern work on the topic of sacred contagion entitled Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo
Purity and Danger
Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo is the best known book by the influential anthropologist and cultural theorist Mary Douglas. In 1991 the Times Literary Supplement listed it as one of the hundred most influential non-fiction books published since 1945...
. She states that, "We cannot understand sacred contagion unless we distinguish a class of cultures in which pollution ideas flourish from another class of cultures, including our own, in which they do not." Douglas and Durkheim both rejected the idea that concepts of purity and impurity, such as those found in Leviticus, were an attempt to use religion to explain hygiene, an otherwise impossible task in the scientific terms of the time, several millennium before the concept of germs
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
. Instead, according to Douglas and Durkheim, spiritual cleanliness and physical cleanliness are wholly separate and must be considered on their own terms.