Contemplating Culture: A Missionary Walk Through A Secular Age
Part book-club, history lesson, philosophical pondering, sisterly conversation, launchpad for reflection, our hope beyond anything else is that Contemplating Culture blesses you. A Secular Age by Charles Taylor is a big fat book full of good stuff that most of the world's population will never read. So we're doing it for you. Kathryn is reading through the book and cartooning as she goes, taking these into conversations with Katherine. Together, we explore the state of contemporary culture, how we got here, and what this all means for us as missionaries in the world today.
Episodes
48. The Age of Authenticity
Like every other age, the Age of Authenticity has its own set of ethics and goals. In this episode Kat opens up what it is like being a formator in a religious community and a spiritual director in the midst of this age, particularly when elements of the age seem at odds with the nature of religious life or Christian discipleship.References:-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 473-486)
47. Enduring Impacts of Mobilisation
With the rise of migration from rural areas into cities, people were displaced from community and there was a felt lack which provided the perfect ground for the emergence of the Age of Mobilisation. Many societal structures and efforts of evangelisation were based around the needs and nature of this Age. In this episode we explore what some of the elements of the Age of Mobilisation were, and the
46. The Building of Secularisation
In this episode we begin a new section of A Secular Age, looking at how various parties construct their narratives of secularisation and the impact this has.There is a pervading notion that religion is either false, irrelevant, or unattractive, and that secularisation is a simple transfer of this reality via diffusion and differentiation. The narrative would say that those wishing to sustain relig
45. The Impact of the World Wars on Faith
In this episode we explore how the British synthesis of duty and altruism fared through the world wars. As faith was shaken, numerous options emerged (or were forged) to help people find a meaningful way forward.References:-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 407-419)
44. Duty, Discipline, and the Need for God
In this episode we examine the British ethic of the 19th century that arises with its principles of being British, decency, Protestantism, and civilisation. These values are embedded into schooling, and find their peak heading into the First World War. As always, a pendulum swing comes in the other direction advocating for the redemption of spontaneity and freedom, and a gamut of positions emerge
43. New Paths in the 19th Century
In this episode we follow some of the cases of the increasing number of expressions of belief/unbelief that emerge in the 19th Century. The old faith is considered unbelievable, but much of what it offered comes to be seen as somewhat essential. It is a period of exploration, with many different trajectories emerging in the pursuit of something plausible.References:--Pages of A Secular Age, Charle
42. The Maturing of Unbelief
At the turn of the 19th century, two factors rise as influential in maturing the nova of unbelief that emerged in the 18th century, namely i) the scientific stance as a higher standard, and ii) the continued unfolding of the new cosmic imaginary that had little place for a personal God. Faith came to be seen as childish and immature, and even standard exclusive humanism came to be seen as not far
41. The Neutral Space of Beauty
In this episode we track the development of art as opening up a space of mystery and intrigue that comes to be a neutral space for unbelief to land in the Romantic era. While at first the arts largely captured inherently beautiful things and expressed them in the appropriate public context, the context was first removed and later the subject, such that art could then just be beautiful and about no
40. Deep Time and the Sublime
What happens to our understanding of our world and who we are within it when we start to realise that there is a mystery surrounding the physical origins of humanity and the world?Charles Taylor highlights three themes that can emerge with this line of questioning:i) ruins and deep time (time), the sense that there is an unrecoverable past that we have emerged fromii) the sublime (space), the sens
39. Marvel and the Modern Cosmic Imaginary
In this episode we explore two shifts that occur at the turn of the 19th century that start to provide meaningful shape to the experience of living at the time: i) the shift from a cosmos to the universe, ii) an understanding an acceptance of the evoluntionary process.As limits start to fade into a distant past, the imagination of the ordinary person slowly becomes more and more open to possibilit
38. Dissatisfactions with the Buffered Identity
In this episode we explore with Charles Taylor some of the felt dissatisfactions that begin to arise with the emergence of the buffered identity.In the realm of resonance, these include i) the notion that Deism is too tame and that we must take love seriously, ii) a revulsion at goodness being only at the level of self-interest, and iii) the feeling that life within the immanent order is too easil
37. Modern Objections to Christianity
In this episode we look at the objections of the Modern Moral Order to Orthodox Christianity:i) it offends reason by holding a place for mysteryii) it is authoritarian by holding an Almighty above us, offending both reason and freedomiii) it poses impossible problems of theodicyiv) it threatens the order of mutual benefit.Of these, we take a particular look at theodicy, and the range of responses
36. The Malaise of Modernity
In this episode we enter into the halls of Part III of A Secular Age - The Nova Effect. Once there is one viable option of unbelief, more and more become available and viable, as do ways of believing, as well as options at every point in between - an explosion of options for belief and unbelief.Part III begins with Chapter 8 - The Malaises of Modernity, where Charles Taylor looks at what it feels
35. Understanding Reality and Freedom
In a world where freedom has become such a key value, and in many ways is aligned with human dignity, does believing in God offend our freedom, or does it in fact provide a foundation for it?In this episode we explore the implications of "I think, there I am" both in terms of how we view what is and could be real, and how we understand our freedom. With the glorification of disengaged re
34. Tensions Between Classical Thought and Christianity
In this episode we look at 6 tensions between classical Greek thought and Orthodox Christianity as they played out in the aftermath of the Enlightenment: i) the importance of the body, ii) what of our lives is important when we reach our ultimate end, iii) the sense of the individual in eternity, iv) the importance of contingency and the unfolding of history, (v) the importance of the emotions, an
33. From God as Agent to God as Architect
With this episode we begin to look at the chapter 'The Impersonal Order'. As the exclusive authority of reason applied to the natural sciences starts to be applied to other fields, the communal image of God starts to shift. God is relegated to the sidelines with the Deist notion that he has set up the world and it is now left to humanity to make of it what we will.Taylor claims that this m
32. When Niche Ideas Become Widespread Directives
In this episode we look at the point where the niche ideas of the elite expand into mainstream directives to such a degree that there is no going back. This is a turning point in the Western world.We can't fully understand our own context until we appreciate the turn where rationality was no longer optional, and goods such as freedom, life, prosperity, peace, and mutual benefit start to be pur
31. Why Do We Do Good?
In this episode we look at the idea of goodness and how humanity has shifted its understanding of why we pursue it.
How did humanity come to accept goodness in the same movement as distancing themselves from God? How did agape love descend to a form of measured universal sympathy? Is this is natural progression of humanity once the structures of religion are removed? We explore these and other qu
30. Polite Society and Tolerance
In this episode we look at the development of the Modern Moral Order as expressed in "polite society", the power of this communally held notion, and the impact of this upon religion and people of faith. Polite society has bequeathed us tolerance, but is this really what we're called to?
References:
-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor: (234-242)
Website:
https://sites.google.com/contemplati
29. What Powered the Rise of Deism?
In this episode we look at the 3 forces Charles Taylor proposes as fuelling the rise of deism:
-the success of the order project, the mentality that "we can do it on our own"
-continuation of the ideals of the reformation, the decline of the mysterious and heroic as the ordinary vocations are affirmed
-reaction against the 'juridicial-penal' model, where self-interest came to be accepted as good i
28. Deism: The God who doesn't intervene
We proceed into looking at Part II: The Turning Point, as Charles Taylor outlines deism as a hinge point between classic Christianity and exclusive humanism.
In this episode we look at the 4 anthropocentric shifts Taylor outlines that characterise the shift to providential deism:
i) the eclipse of higher purpose than human flourishing in the here and now
ii) the eclipse of grace and intervention
27. Being Missionaries Within the Culture (w/ Bishop Mark Edwards OMI)
In our second episode with Bishop Mark Edwards OMI, we explore the role of a missionary within a culture.
Matteo Ricci SJ provides the example of taking Christianity into China, where he offers us three key guides for this kind of mission: i) befriend the people, ii) disentangle faith from your own culture so that you can inculturate into the new culture, and iii) seek to be authentic to your fai
26. Reviewing the Work of Reform (w/ Bishop Mark Edwards OMI)
In this very special episode of Contemplating Culture, Bishop Mark Edwards from Wagga Wagga Diocese in regional New South Wales joins us as we review Part I: The Work of Reform.
We look at key learnings, themes that stick out to us, and try and hold together the overarching story of the road travelled with Charles Taylor to date.
Reflection:
-Why did I begin listening to this podcast?
-What epis
25. What Moves History?
In the conclusion of Part I: The Work of Reform, we spend some time reflecting on what the driving force behind history is. Is it ideas that provide the power for change (Idealism), or do the external factors and motivations lead the way and wait for the ideas to take shape around them (Materialism)?
Taylor concludes in The Spectre of Idealism that it is both.
As missionaries, it is not just th
24. Direct Access Society
This week we look at one of the bequests of the shifting social imaginary: direct access society.
As things started to become more 'secular' (relating exclusively to ordinary time), the importance of higher times and therefore those that mediate to these higher times (priests, kings, etc) diminishes. What unfolds is the direct-access citizen-state, and the implications of this are huge.
23. The Sovereign People
Why did the American Revolution hold where the French case failed? How can a society honour both individual freedom and the common good?
In this episode we explore these and other questions as we look at the notion of "The People" as a commonly held notion distinct from religion and politics. Elements such as agreed-upon traditional practices, unifying spearhead figures, underlying phi
22. The Public Sphere
In the second of three social imaginaries that we look at as mutations away from the religion/politics stronghold, we talk in this episode about the public sphere.
Charles Taylor guides us through the changing landscape of dialogue that comes with commercial print media in the 1800s, as a trans-location, inter-referring conversation opens up. And the speed and reach of this dialogue has only ampl
21. The Economy as Objectified Reality
In this episode we look at the emergence of 'The Economy', an amoral object that we can talk about, the place where the happenings of society began to shift to. How did we get here, and what was it like before? The economy has truly taken root in the society of mutual benefit, where as Alexander Pope notes "true SELF-LOVE and SOCIAL are the same thing" (ASA, p 181.)
We look at th
20. Social Imaginaries
In this episode we tackle the concept of the social imaginary, the believable reality held by a people. Understanding what a social imaginary is, and how it's held in place through things such as stories, images, law, and collective action, we are positioned for intentional response.
We highlight three areas of response that can be useful for missionaries: compassion for understanding someone
19. Moving Towards The Modern Moral Order
A jam-packed episode this week exploring the shift in moral order.
We take a look at the shift away from three levels of pre-modern morality:
Form- the notion that there is a pre-existing ideal self for us to pursue
Function- all people are part of the higher hierarchy, and find identity through the function they play in the wider sphere of society
Goal- people work together towards the hig
18. Natural Law
In this episode we begin Chapter 4, Modern Social Imaginaries. We take a look at the transformation of Natural Law from a theory of the philosophical elite to a functional structure that carries western civilisation from a pre-modern to a modern social imaginary.
As Natural Law created space for secular moral discussion, we propose a few tools that can be useful for us in this space today.
i) pl
17. Migration From 'A People' To 'A Society of Individuals'
In this episode we tackle the entirety of Chapter 3, The Great Disembedding.
With the separation of religion and society, individuals can come to have identity and purpose that is independent of a particular formulation of these.
Taylor points to three anchors that had been holding this relationship in place: i) social order, ii) the cosmos, iii) human good. As each of these comes undone, how we
16. The Severing of Transcendence from Immanence
How did a world where the immanent and transcendent were intricately woven come to bequeath us a world where it is possible to live in a closed world where communication between the natural and supernatural is largely foreign and unexpected? As Taylor says “Many
people are happy living for goals which are purely immanent. They live in a way that takes no account of the transcendent” (p. 143).
In t
15. The Decline of Intimacy
In this week's episode we discuss how polite society and the glorification of reason eventuated in a decline in intimacy.
How did the development of table manners play a role in shame of self-exposure and vulnerability? We trace this and other historical developments as we seek to discover the ways that the hangover of society-prescribed shame still lives in us today.
NB: The audio quality on
14. The Glorification of Reason
In this episode we delve further into Chapter 2 (The of Disciplinary Society) by looking at the rise of reason. As the writings of Justus Lipsius find their way into the right hands at the right time, a program for Christian neo-Stoicism emerges. Can reason and hard work really bring about perfect human living? If reason is a gift from God, is it enough that we use this gift well? What is the role
13. The Rise of Polite Society
The journey towards a disciplined society was the introduction of civility to the masses; wide-scale discipline and programs to educate into (or safeguard against threats to a civilised society. Statecraft and religious reform become entangled in the movement, and perhaps this has a part to play in how tearing down "the establishment" led in centuries to come to tearing down "religi
12. Interest in Nature for its Own Sake
Was there really a time when nature wasn't taken under a microscope? When art and music was used to tell stories, and the thought of testing its limits hadn't really been explored?
With this episode we begin looking at Chapter 2: The Rise of Disciplinary Society. Here, Charles Taylor begins by looking at the story of how humanity started looking at nature for its own sake.
As we follow the
11. The Ascent and Anxiety of Reform
The new Christian transport is taking off: disenchantment and humanism start find movement in Christianity through inner personal devotion, uneasiness with sacramentals, and anxiety of judgment. We find Christianity swept up in the movements of reform, rejecting the old and charging on towards forging something new. Finding its peak in a Puritan Calvin society, it seems that remade, well-ordered s
10. The Anxiety of Death
The pagan fear of the dead and the unsettled souls in the afterlife starts to give way in Christianity to a fear of death itself, on account of personal judgment. The increasing notion of the individual person means that the final judgment starts to give way to each person's particular judgment. We see the rise of auricular confession, indulgences, concern for sexual sin.
So how did this devel
9. The Power of Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction has been a part of the human story since its beginning. But what happens when the widespread dissatisfaction of the masses is empowered with the belief that change is possible, and the tools to carry it out? In this episode we look at the drive for reform powered by dissatisfaction, and some of the implications in both ancient and modern history. What can learn from history, and wh
8. Loss of a Common Sense of Time
In this era when time is a resource, and a valuable one at that, it can be difficult to fathom a relationship with time that isn't based on equal units of chronological time. Is there another way of viewing time? In this episode we launch from Charles Taylor's notion of a common sense of higher time that slowly eroded, into an exploration of time as we know it. Are we slaves or free? Is ti
7. When God is No Longer the Glue of Society
With the development of the buffered self, space slowly opens for people to shift from thinking primarily in the "I" instead of the "we". Slowly, society was no longer something held in place by God that we were part of, society became something we can (and must) make.
In a disenchanted world, it started to become possible to imagine a world where the tensions of a hierarchical
6. Disenchantment and the Buffered Self
In this episode we begin looking at the first of the three "bulwarks of belief", God the good spirit that protects us from a world of unruly spirits. With the progression of science examining the physical nature of the world, the mystery started to unravel and what was once a very "enchanted" world became slowly "disenchanted". As such, people began to shift from being "porous" (open to forces and
5. How Did Questioning Become Inescapable?
We begin Part 1, The Work of Reform. Over the coming episodes we will be exploring the dynamics at play that caused a flurry of movements that set out to "remake" society, rather than acceptance of the stability of how things were.
In this episode we begin Chapter 1, the Bulwarks of Belief. Belief was held in place by three key fortresses, and as each of these began to be taken out from the wall a
4. The Eclipse of Transcendence
Charles Taylor claims that the heart of modern secularity is "exclusive humanism", where a life can be conceived involving no goal beyond human flourishing. How did we get here? The stage is set for the eclipse of the tri-fold connections to transcendence:
a higher good,
for a higher power
for a time/place beyond this life
Reflections:
As the final episode breaking open i
3. Naiveties and Pain Points
What shapes the background of belief? In this episode we explore elements of our contemporary world view which mean that belief today cannot be the same as belief 500 years ago. Ideas covered include:
Distinctions such as natural/supernatural, immanent/transcendent, theist/atheist
Assumptions we might have about people who sit in a different stance to us
Pain points of the modern stances of un
2. The Pursuit of Fullness
How do we view this life? Does it end with death, or is there something beyond? In this episode we explore the human pursuit of fullness, and the shape this can take from different worldviews.
Is death's door open or closed?
Is our daily life shaped by FOMO or surrender, anxiety or freedom?
What is the "full life" we are working towards?
Reflections:
Take something from today's episode int
1. Where We Think We Are Matters
The journey begins! In this episode we enter the first few pages of A Secular Age by Charles Taylor, looking at a few key ideas:
Language shapes our experience of and reaction to the world
Our world is in a new phase of being secular, where faith is no longer just (i) separated from the state or worldly things, or (ii) on the decline or openly opposed, but rather (iii), one option among many in
Contemplating Culture Intro
The run down of what's coming and why we'd love you to jump on board and join the conversation!
https://sites.google.com/view/contemplatingculture/home
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