Humanities: World Religions, Comparative Mythology, and the Search for Meaning: Sacred Objects

- What makes the object sacred?
- What is the object’s function?
- What is the object’s origin story?
- What stories are associated with the object?
- What is the object made out of?
- Who or what made the object?
- How was it made?
- How is the object placed? Does its context serve as veneration?
- How has the object changed over time?
- When was it made?
- What rituals serve to venerate the object?
- Why is the object significant to the people who visit it?
- Does the object have aesthetic value?
- Has the object moved locations over time? If so, why and how?
- How is the object significant to its religion and culture?
- Does the object have universal appeal?

After you have chosen your sacred object and done some background reading in the reference sources above, try searching in JSTOR and Academic Search Premier. In these databases, you'll find scholarly journal articles offering more in-depth analysis on a particular topic or object.