Challenging the myth of the idealized rational society, Lynch argues that emotionally-charged forms of the sacred remain an inevitable foundation of social life. Modernity has not rid us of the sacred, but merely presented us with new sacred forms focused around humanity, nature and the nation.

Gordon Lynch is Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology at the University of Kent.

Introduction 1. The Idea of the Sacred 2. The Transient Sacred 3. The Modern Sacred 4. The Sacred and Religion 5. Cultivating the Sacred Further Reading Bibliography