In a book of great originality & scholarship, a noted historian of religion traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times, in terms of space, time, nature, the cosmos & life itself. The Sacred & the Profane serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also encompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology & psychology. It will be of concern to anyone seeking to discover the potential dimensions of human existence. From the Introduction: "The reader will very soon realize that sacred & profane are two modes of being in the world, two existential situations assumed by man in the course of his history. Our primary concern is to present the specific dimensions of religious experience, to bring out the differences between it & profane experience of the world...may serve as a general introduction to the history of religions."