At this point, Bellah brings the secular and the sacred together:
“Many of our religious traditions recognize the significance of silence as a way of breaking the incessant flow of sensations and opening our hearts to the wholeness of being. And . . . tradition, too, has ways of giving form to time, reminding us on particular dates of the great events of our past, or of the heroes who helped to teach us what we are as a free people. Even our private family life takes on a shared rhythm with a Thanksgiving dinner or a Fourth of July picnic.”
As Bellah notes, the assignment of meaning concerns the relationship between a community and its deeply felt commitment to interpersonal relationship and group relationships. Ultimately, sacred coherence is based on the overarching relationship between community and some divine (sacred) entity. From this perspective, harmony might be said to be angelic when properly tuned.
The I-Thou of Coherence
We find a guide in our exploration of the sacred, in the overarching perspectives on relationships and its associated spiritual tradition in the vision offered by the Jewish Theologian, Martin Buber in I-Thou (1958). As is the case with the closely related concept of Agape (a form of love to be found in the Greek lexicon), Buber’s I/Thou relationship is formed on behalf of some greater devotion or cause. There is a third element involved in a sacred relationship between two or more people, or a gathering of people in a community. This third element can be the honoring of God, achieving the Ultimate Good, or building the Shining City on the Hill—a city of harmony.
As Reinhold Niebuhr (1986, p. 150) notes, agape moves beyond the Greek concept of Philia, which is a form of mutual love between two people. Agape requires the third level—just as mutuality of interest ultimately requires not just a trusting and equitable relationship between two people or institutions, but also a protective societal structure. The binding, relational “glue” of agape is to be found in that which transcends those individuals who are engaged in the relationship. In many cultures, there is a dedication of all members of the society to a specific set of values (a harmony of interests) and ways of finding meaning in their world. This dedication blends the secular and the sacred.
A I/Thou covenant points to a shared commitment that extends beyond the interests or even welfare of either party. A community or institution-based charter of harmony points to outcomes that go well beyond personal or institutional interests (Bergquist, 2003). Rocks, pebbles and sand are all acknowledged by those committing to the charter. This charter represents a commitment on their part to a larger sacred vision of coherence.
