Interpreting Charles Taylor's Social Theory on Religion and Secularization

This book examines Taylorean social theory, its sources, main characteristics and impact. Charles Taylor's meta-narrative of secularization in the West, prominently contained in his major work A Secular Age (2007), has brought new insight on the social and cultural factors that intervened in such process, the role of human agency, and particularly on the contemporary conditions of belief in North America and Europe. This study discusses what Taylor's approach has brought to the scholarly debate on Western secularization, which has been carried on mostly in sociological terms. McKenzie interprets Taylor's views in a way that offers an original social theory. Such interpretation is possible with the help of sociologist Margaret Archer's morphogenetic theory and by making the most of Taylor's particular understanding of the method of the social sciences and of his philosophical views on human beings, knowledge and modernity. After exploring the philosophical and sociological sources informing Taylorean social theory and proposing its basic concepts and hermeneutic guidelines, the author compares it with two widespread theories of secularization: the now waning orthodox account and that proposed by Rational Choice Theory scholars, particularly prevalent in the United States. In doing so, the book shows in which ways Taylorean social theory supersedes them, what new issues it brings into the scholarly discussion, and what difficulties might limit its future development.

Helps the reader to grasp the essential elements of a complex and nuanced debate Bridges the realms of philosophy and social theory and shows their connections Is the first work to deal with the sociological assumptions operative in Taylor's meta-narrative of secularization in the West Shows how Taylor's narrative is a case study of his hermeneutic view of the social sciences

Autorentext

Germán McKenzie is a Peruvian-Canadian theologian who earned a Ph.D. in Religion and Culture from the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.). His academic interests evolve around secularization and religion in the West, minority religions, and on the intersection of theology and sociology. He worked as Chief-Editor of Revista VE, a peer-reviewed journal aimed at the study of Latin American theology and spirituality, and lectured at various Peruvian universities and at Niagara University (Lewiston, New York). He is currently an Assistant Professor at St. Mark's and Corpus Christi Colleges, University of British Columbia. Dr. McKenzie was awarded by his alma mater with the Hubbard Dissertation Fellowship, and by the Canadian Consortium for the Study of Religion with the Travel Scholarship for Doctoral Students. He has published the monograph Contemporary Cultural Trends in Peru (Universidad Catolica Sedes Sapientiae, Lima, Peru), as well as scholarly articles and entries on contemporary Catholicism and Buddhism in Latin America.

Klappentext

This book examines "Taylorean social theory," its sources, main characteristics and impact. Charles Taylor's meta-narrative of secularization in the West, prominently contained in his major work A Secular Age (2007), has brought new insight on the social and cultural factors that intervened in such process, the role of human agency, and particularly on the contemporary conditions of belief in North America and Europe. This study discusses what Taylor's approach has brought to the scholarly debate on Western secularization, which has been carried on mostly in sociological terms. McKenzie interprets Taylor's views in a way that offers an original social theory. Such interpretation is possible with the help of sociologist Margaret Archer's "morphogenetic theory" and by making the most of Taylor's particular understanding of the method of the social sciences and of his philosophical views on human beings, knowledge and modernity. After exploring the philosophical and sociological sources informing Taylorean social theory and proposing its basic concepts and hermeneutic guidelines, the author compares it with two widespread theories of secularization: the now waning "orthodox" account and that proposed by Rational Choice Theory scholars, particularly prevalent in the United States. In doing so, the book shows in which ways Taylorean social theory supersedes them, what new issues it brings into the scholarly discussion, and what difficulties might limit its future development.

Inhalt

Part I. Meta-Narrative.- Chapter 1. The Contemporary Landscape of Theories of Secularization.- Chapter 2. Charles Taylor's Account of Secularization (I).- Chapter 3. Charles Taylor's Account of Secularization (II).- Part II. Sources.- Chapter 4. Philosophical and Classic Sociological Sources.- Chapter 5. Contemporary Sociological Sources.- Part III. Taylorean Social Theory.- Chapter 6. Interpreting a Social Theory.- Chapter 7. Taylorean Social Theory and the Orthodox and Counter-Orthodox Models.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.