The Idea of the Holy

work by Otto

Also known as: “Das Heilige”

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June 29, 2026

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Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy (1917) explores the essence of religious experience, which he terms the "numinous." This concept, derived from the Latin numen (divine), describes a feeling that is both awe-inspiring and fascinating, a "mysterium tremendum et fascinans". Otto argued that the numinous is a unique category of human thought, distinct from aesthetics or ethics, and cannot be fully explained by rationality or language.1

The experience of the numinous has two aspects: the "tremendum," evoking awe and dread, and the "fascinans," drawing one in with attraction and fascination. Otto's work significantly influenced the phenomenology of religion, though some later scholars have critiqued its perceived Christian bias and focus on individual cognition over social context. Despite critiques, Otto's concept remains influential in understanding religious experience.1

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study of religion
Modern origin and development of the history and phenomenology of religion
…world with the publication of The Idea of the Holy (in its German edition of 1917), which showed the influence of Schleiermacher, Marett, Edmund Husserl, and the Neo-Kantianism of Jakob Fries (1773–1843). More important than the philosophical side of his enterprise, however, was the excellent delineation of a central experience…
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…world with the publication of The Idea of the Holy (in its German edition of 1917), which showed the influence of Schleiermacher, Marett, Edmund Husserl, and the Neo-Kantianism of Jakob Fries (1773–1843). More important than the philosophical side of his enterprise, however, was the excellent delineation of a central experience…
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Rudolf Otto
Das Heilige (1917; The Idea of the Holy, 1923) is his most important work. His ideas were influential in the development of the study of religion in the 20th century, particularly for the school of phenomenology of religion.
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Das Heilige (1917; The Idea of the Holy, 1923) is his most important work. His ideas were influential in the development of the study of religion in the 20th century, particularly for the school of phenomenology of religion.
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mysterium tremendum et fascinans
Formulation in Otto’s Das Heilige
Otto’s most important work Das Heilige is an attempt to define the essence of religious experience, the irreducible and fundamental human sense of what Otto calls heilige (“the holy”), and which other scholars of religion would later refer to as the sacred. Otto’s work is influenced heavily by Friedrich…
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Otto’s most important work Das Heilige is an attempt to define the essence of religious experience, the irreducible and fundamental human sense of what Otto calls heilige (“the holy”), and which other scholars of religion would later refer to as the sacred. Otto’s work is influenced heavily by Friedrich…
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sacred
The emergence of the concept of the sacred
, The Idea of the Holy, 1923) appeared and exercised a great influence on the study of religion through its description of religious man’s experience of the “numinous” (a mysterious, majestic presence inspiring dread and fascination), which Otto, a German theologian and historian of religions, claimed,…
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, The Idea of the Holy, 1923) appeared and exercised a great influence on the study of religion through its description of religious man’s experience of the “numinous” (a mysterious, majestic presence inspiring dread and fascination), which Otto, a German theologian and historian of religions, claimed,…
Read More