Is there a sacred in a modern archive, and can archival scholars study it? The legacy of secularism in archival science and postsecularism

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of the presence of the sacred in archives and the research of it conducted by archival science. Postsecular reflection allows a critical look at the roots of the archive and archival science in the context of the process of secularization in cultures associated with modernity. The consequence of this reflection is the recognition of the existence of the sacred in various versions in the archive and the opening of a path of reflection on it in archival science. This does not mean a return to religion in the field of archives and archival science and replacing the current archival practice with one that will be the result of archival reflection as secular theology. Archival sciences can draw on non-scientistic anthropological theories of culture, distancing themselves from the issue of the status of the sacred. A critical reflection on secularism in the context of archives and archival studies opens up many other possibilities for archival sciences to explore the sacred in the archive.