One moment in the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris clearly touched a nerve: the tableau of mostly drag queens believed to be parodying Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’. Organisers have since denied this was the intention and apologised for the offense caused. Many commentators, including non-believers, declared it “blasphemous”, and “a denigration of Western culture”. While others, Christians among them, considered that response to be an over-reaction.

Stepping back from the immediate and perhaps predicable outrage drawn along culture war lines, is the deeper question of what we consider to be ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ in a largely secular Western society.

What, if anything, is sacred? Does the idea only make sense in relation to the concept of God? Does it have a moral function or is it more about personal spirituality? Maybe nothing is sacred, since categorising something as such puts it beyond scrutiny? Or can the concept be widened, even secularised, to take in, for example, the idea of ‘profaning’ the natural world or hollowing out the things we hold to be of value by turning them into commercial transactions?

Are the concepts of ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ still important? And if so, what role do they have in the 21st century?

Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant producer: Ruth Purser

Panel:
Anne McElvoy
Giles Fraser
Ash Sarkar
Tim Stanley

Witnesses:
Melanie McDonagh
Andrew Copson
Fergus Butler-Gallie
Francis Young