The Sacred and the Profane in Fr. Andrew M. Greeley’s Passover Trilogy

Abstract

Using the concept of the sacred–profane dichotomy by Emile Durkheim which is found in his Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), the author attempts to prove the existence of the sacred and the profane elements in Fr. Andrew Greeley’s Passover Trilogy. After dissecting the novels, the article found out that, as per Durkheim’s concept, sacred and profane elements existed. However, the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane was advertently fused. This harmonious fusion of the sacred and the profane is important in shaping the characters’ lives (who are representations of real people) especially in terms of their moral rebirth and sense of renewal, and that the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane would only create chaos and confusion, among others.

Keywords

• andrew m. greeley
• sociology of literature
• the sacred and the profane
• passover trilogy
• sociology of religion