The Tendency to Call Everything “Sacred” and “Holy”
By Will B. Winners, author of the book In the Land of Deceit
Since the development of urban centers and the popularization of agriculture, humans have had a tendency to designate mountains, towns, plains, forests, people, empires, rivers, texts and practices as sacred or holy. When you deal with religion then the sacred designation can apply to almost anything. In Japan, for example, swords are considered sacred in some temples. The acceptance of sacredness by society has resulted in cancellation of energy projects needed for the buildup of infrastructure that would help humanity.
But I believe the designation reached an extreme when it was used in prostitution. Yes, prostitution, you read correctly. If you go to Wikipedia, you can read the following definition: “Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are purported rites consisting of paid intercourse performed in the context of religious worship, possibly as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage (hieros gamos). Scholars prefer the terms ‘sacred sex’ or ‘sacred sexual rites’ in cases where payment for services is not involved.”
The practice of sacred prostitution seemed to have started in Sumeria, since in the code of laws of Hammurabi the right and good name of female sacred sexual prostitutes was protected. But the practice was also prevalent in the societies of the Hittites, Phoenicians, Ancient Israel, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Cyprus, Indonesia, Japan, the Maya and the Aztecs. In modern times there has been cases of sacred prostitution as it was in the cases of the so-called churches The Children of God and Church of the Most High Goddess. The couple running the latter ended up in jail after a raid.
Yet, if you try to understand the reasons why geographical sites, persons and organizations are designated as sacred, answers do not come easily. First of all, there seems to be no logic involved in the designation. What property of a mountain or a river would be so powerful or meaningful to deserve the title of sacred? What practical benefit would the designation offer to the population in their vicinity? In some cases, the reason is the result of tradition and the people around are not aware of a specific purpose. In other cases, the designation allows for access control and sometimes there is a fee for access that benefits a priest or shaman. Yet, the origin seems to be the same as with religion in general: people need to belong to something or be part of something. By becoming a follower of the tradition, the individual believes that he/she is assuring an afterlife, or what some people call “sky insurance.” Well, it seems that, if I want, I can designate my behind as holy and in the present norm of tolerance and diversity, everybody must accept it.
Additional details on the subject treated here, as well as 59 other subjects, can be obtained by going to www.inthelandofdeceit.com. The above are the author’s opinions, not necessarily those of this publication.