Mountains as sacred spaces
Culture and Religion January 2, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2020.1858545 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 10 |
| Key points | Proposes that 'hierophany' and 'numinous experience', despite severe criticism in Religious Studies, can be redefined as purely descriptive categories and applied to diverse mountain experiences, from Late Antique pilgrimage like climbing Mount Sinai to modern extreme sports like free-soloing in Yosemite. |
Abstract
Sacred mountains are well known from all over the world, especially as places for pilgrimage. Classical phenomenology of religion used to present them as places of a hierophany and/or as spaces for a numinous experience. Although both these concepts – ’hierophany’ and ’numinous experience’ – have been the target of severe criticism in Religious Studies, it may be rewarding to redefine them as purely descriptive categories and discuss the applicability to various kinds of mountain-experiences: from religious pilgrimage in Late Antiquity as, for instance, climbing Mount Sinai, to extreme-sports in modern times as, for instance, free-soloing in the Yosemite National Park.