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Series:   Elements in Religion and Violence

Sacrifice

Themes, Theories, and Controversies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2022

Margo Kitts
Margo Kitts
Affiliation:
Hawaii Pacific University

Summary

After over a century of grand theorizing about the universal dimensions to the practice of ritual sacrifice, scholars now question the analytical utility of the notion writ large. The word 'sacrifice' (Latin sacrificium) itself frequently is broken down into its Latin roots, sacer, sacred, and facere, to do or to make – to do or to make sacred – which is a huge category and also vague. Presuming it is people and places that are made sacred, we must question the dynamics. Does sacrifice 'make sacred' by summoning the presence of gods or ancestors? By offering gifts to them? By dining with them? By restoring or establishing cosmic order? By atoning for personal or collective sins? By rectifying social disequilibrium through scapegoating? By inducing an existential epiphany about life and death? While this short Element cannot cover all complexities and practices, it does treat critically some prominent themes, theories, and controversies concerning sacrifice, from ancient to present times.
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Keywords

sacrificeritual killingancient and contemporary sacrificial theoriesIliadNear Eastern oath-curses
Type
Element
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Series: Elements in Religion and Violence
Online ISBN: 9781108997041
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 28 July 2022

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Sacrifice
  • Margo Kitts, Hawaii Pacific University
  • Online ISBN: 9781108997041
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Sacrifice
  • Margo Kitts, Hawaii Pacific University
  • Online ISBN: 9781108997041
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Sacrifice
  • Margo Kitts, Hawaii Pacific University
  • Online ISBN: 9781108997041
Available formats
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