ABSTRACT
This chapter engages with the long-standing debate surrounding the sacred-profane dichotomy established by Durkheim and Eliade. Challenging the conventional understanding of secularisation as a “disenchantment of the world”, the authors draw upon Peter Berger's insights to demonstrate how Christianity redefined the presence of God in the human universe. The process of secularisation resulted from the ongoing struggle between Christianity and various non-Christian religions, as well as the political and ideological conflict between the Catholic and Protestant Churches. The Enlightenment, which resulted in the privatisation of religion and the supremacy of reason, can be understood as a byproduct of these processes. However, movements such as Pentecostalism, which emphasises the presence of saints, angels, and spirits in daily life, and Candomblé, which does not separate the sacred and profane, present alternative narratives. The chapter also explores Talal Asad's nuanced history of secularity and argues that the distinction between the sacred and profane is irrelevant for Candomblé and Pentecostal believers. Instead, the human realm is intertwined with the divine's plane, rendering the dichotomy conceptually inoperative.
