Mountains as sacred spaces. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Berner, Ulrich
• Is Part Of: Culture and religion. Volume 21:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 18
• Page End: 30
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Sacred mountains -- numinous -- hierophany -- pilgrimage -- extreme sports; Religion and culture -- Periodicals; 306.605
• DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2020.1858545
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1475-5610

Abstract

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.