The sacred and sacrality: from Eliade to evolutionary ethology

Eliade’s sacred seems to refer to an autonomous entity but close inspection indicates a response to experiences to which we attribute sacrality. This allows the postulation of a natural ‘sacred’ that can be defined, and become the basis for an empirical definition of religion. Such ascriptions are commonly associated with art objects, from narratives and texts to dramas and architecture. Consideration of anthropology and ethology of art reveals a relationship between skill and the sacred, which clarifies the origin and function of 'sacrality' as a cognitive experience characteristic of, but not exclusive to, religious behaviour. The same trait is operative in other behaviours, such as art and sport, but it is less restricted in art and less comprehensive sport. Nonetheless, art and sport (and other secular behaviours) do have an affinity with religious behaviour. They are consanguineous with religion – descendants of a common ancestor.