Introduction: why do we need a sociology of the sacred? -- Ontological and Durkheimian theories of the sacred -- After Durkheim: the development of a cultural sociology of the sacred -- Dominant and subjugated sacred forms: interpreting the systemic abuse and neglect of children in the Irish Industrial School system -- The mediatization of the sacred: the BBC, Gaza and the DEC appeal -- Living with the light and shadow of the sacred -- Conclusion.