The Sacred: "Return" or Permanence?

The status of the sacred as a category is explored for the cases of the Italian Catholic Church & modern religious movements, in particular, the integralistic movements (Communion, Liberation). Analysis of religious phenomena should consider such factors as age, social status, residence, gender, & occupation. As the traditional Catholic faith in Italy has always relied extensively on the notion of the sacred, the permanence of the sacred, rather than its revival, should be acknowledged. Meanwhile, a number of modern religious movements have originated through sharp contradiction with the views of the Catholic Church; for these, the denial or defiance of what is sacred in Catholicism was an important developmental step. The inner evolution of these movements, even their return to traditional Catholicism, has resulted in recognition of the sacred as a fundamental category, which allows an interpretation positioning a revival or "return" of the sacred. 7 References. M. Polinsky