By: Mark Steele on January 18, 2014
Charles Taylor in his book A Secular Age won the Templeton Prize for his brilliant work explaining the story and evolution of secularism. In his book, he explains that secularism is much more complex than defining it as belief versus unbelief (Taylor 2007). He says that secularism is not simply the absence of religion, it…
By: Miriam Mendez on January 18, 2014
I was intrigued by the first sentence on the back cover of Modern Social Imaginaries, “Charles Taylor is internationally renowned for his contributions to political and moral theory, particularly to debates about identity formation, multiculturalism, secularism, and modernity.” As I engaged in reading “Modern Social Imaginaries” I found myself being challenged and invited to understand…
By: John Woodward on January 18, 2014
In Charles Taylor’s Modern Social Imaginaries we are treated to wide ranging study of our modern mentality describing not only what it is but also how it came about. Drawing on history, philosophy and social theory, Taylor discerns a dramatic shift in how people imagine their lives today from their imaginaries of the past. The…
By: Ashley Goad on January 18, 2014
(This week, I am in Uganda, and because of this, I am typing from my iPhone. I pray for your forgiveness of the numerous errors!) I have had a lot of time for introspective reflection. We were on three airplanes for a total of 22 hours, and it gave me an opportunity to let my…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on January 18, 2014
Charles Taylor’s book on Modern Social Imaginaries offers great insights on the development of the ideas of social imaginaries in the Western modernity. Taylor makes clear in the introduction that his reflections in this book are solely on Western history and culture, which requires more time for me to understand his views and translate them…
By: rhbaker275 on January 18, 2014
We are confronted with significant challenges in navigating through multiple fronts of change. Understanding challenges and overcoming confrontation is the substance of good leadership. But how can leadership address change that is global, a new world order? It is change that impacts all levels of leadership in every sphere of living. We have experienced discontinuous…
By: Julie Dodge on January 17, 2014
When I saw the title of this book I got so excited: Modern Social Imaginaries[1]! I imagined in my little mind a gathering of great thinkers and innovators; people who imagine the amazing. And then I came to learn that the term modern was of course a reference to the time period of modernists (preceding…
By: Liz Linssen on January 17, 2014
Taylor begins by stating how the basic concept of moral order is to teach us how we ought to live together in society. [i] That is, “[t]he underlying idea of moral order stresses the rights and obligations we have as individuals in regard to each other”. [ii] With that understanding of moral order in hand,…
By: Sam Stephens on January 17, 2014
Hindus in India are currently celebrating a weeklong festival that occurs during mid January each year; one that bears social and religious significance and goes by different names depending on the region of the country. These festival days are considered exceptionally auspicious, that people throng to popular pilgrim locations, ancient temples and ‘holy’ rivers for…
By: Richard Volzke on January 17, 2014
Taylor, in his book on modern social imaginary, explores the development and human understanding of morality in a political societal context. The author does not focus on the theory itself, but the imaginary that surrounds the theory. Taylor begins by explaining the Grotius’s theory on how a political society is formed. His theory is that…
By: Garrick Roegner on January 17, 2014
Certain narratives flow through our world defining and explaining where we have come, where we stand, and possibly where we are going. The television series Lost was a perfect postmodern tale. A mixture of genres colliding into a huge question of existence, reality, and meaning, played through characters with the names of famous philosophers, scientists…
By: Richard Rhoads on January 17, 2014
A few weeks ago after a long day at work, I sat down to take in a episode of Build it Bigger on the Science Channel. Now, before you make any judgments, let me just say I am a Science Channel junkie. That particular evening Build it Bigger was doing a special on the Burj…
By: Carol McLaughlin on January 17, 2014
Do you ever read the end of a book whilst you are reading the same book? Reading Modern Social Imaginaries by Charles Taylor I did just that. Recently those of us in this DMin (Doctor of Ministry) program were asked to reflect on how we would accomplish our mission and vision. Rather than approach it…
By: Fred Fay on January 17, 2014
Where is the place of the supernatural in today’s society? When Christians speak of the miraculous or supernatural sometimes they are rebuffed. People want proof in a scientific age. Still the images of something beyond what we see still “creep” up in Sci-Fi thrillers, obsessions with vampires, belief in the force and mythological stories. Many…
By: David Toth on January 16, 2014
A Questionable Age A youngster in mid-West America during the 50’s and 60’s was likely to have inherited a view of the world that was unifying and uncomplicated. Whether in an urban ghetto or on the plains the path ahead was more objectified and predictable even if not easy or comfortable. It was not common…
By: Phil Smart on January 16, 2014
Funerals are for Evangelism? The church where I serve is large enough to have a Pastor of Benevolence and Care as well as an assistant to that position. Together they handle all requests for help, visitation, bereavement, marriages, funerals etc. I oversee this department – from a distance. So, it was to my chagrin that,…
By: Sandy Bils on January 16, 2014
Today the Church of England posted the results of a new survey by the Faith in Research Conference, who systematically researched for 18 month the church growth in the Church of England. The results were significant: Fresh Expressions of church are growing with around 21,000 people attending in the 10 surveyed areas of the 44…
By: Sharenda Roam on January 16, 2014
Charles Taylor’s book “A Secular Age” is a large volume that is somewhat of a historical narrative which examines the variety of processes involved in the realization of Western secularism. He explains, “So what I want to do is examine our society as secular…the change I want to define and trace is one which takes…
By: Chris Ellis on January 16, 2014
Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age is not for the faint of heart. It is long, turgid and akin to eating chalk. But, if one can get past that, it’s understandable why so many think it is one of the most important books of a generation. After all, the Templeton Prize is not given out to…
By: Deve Persad on January 16, 2014
About three years ago, I sat in a circle with a group of about twenty people, the majority of whom I had never before met. Most were much wealthier, much more accomplished professionally, more refined in their personality. At the outset it seemed apparent that our common bond was our involvement in the mission endeavour…
