Abstract
Originating at the Catholic University of America in the ‘Secularity Project’ (instigated by Professor George F. McLean), this book would emerge from a series of seminars (held over two years), which set about considering the implications of Charles Taylor’s monumental A Secular Age (2007) for the Catholic Church in terms of charting its future. For the most part, the various papers are more complementary contributions to Taylor’s achievement than an explicit engagement with his arguments per se, and, as such, they enrich in diverse ways the Canadian philosopher’s ‘story’ of the secular. Overall, the collection provides a relatively comprehensive overview of the status quaestionis as regards ‘secularity’ and its related categories (and this particularly so from the perspective of the United States, which, it must be said, is somewhat different from the European context). This includes a consideration of the changing profiles of religious affiliation, the role of organized religion, the steady growth in the number of the new religious movements, the polarity of spirituality and (organized) religion, the ebb and flow of (Christian) fundamentalism, the secular assumptions of most Americans, and, pre-eminently, the place of religion and the role of faith in ‘public life.’
The volume is structured around four sections with a superb introduction by William A. Barbieri that proffers the skeletal structure of Taylor’s A Secular Age (no mean task), clarifies, very helpfully, the idea of ‘public life,’ and presents the key heuristic terminology that structures so much of the discussion in this field of inquiry. As regards the first section, Religion and the Public, the exceptionally concise, clear, and creative ‘lead essay’ from David Tracy deals with three significant ways in which religious faith and reflection contribute to public life. These are designated as ‘publicness’ one, two, and three, respectively: the first is a matter of rational inquiry, characterized by dialectic and argument; the second is concerned with the classics (of Christianity), marked by interpretation and conversation; the third involves those mystic and prophetic movements of excess that go beyond the limits of reason, honouring the fundamental openness of the human condition. In this same section, Robert Schreiter—in what is arguably the most theological paper in the collection —explores the category of ‘catholicity,’ outlining its history, and then suggesting how two fundamental readings of the term come to bear on living and acting in a globalized world. For the first, the gift of catholicity ‘is lived out concretely in solidarity with those who are poor and oppressed, in practices of dialogue (to discern those signs [of the times] and to demonstrate solidarity) and of inculturation (to provide environments for the flourishing of the semina Verbi)’ (p. 93, emphasis original). The second approach has ‘as its key practices contemplation of beauty, dwelling in the truth, and celebration of the liturgy that focuses, in its beauty, on the transcendence of God as the way to the fullness of catholicity’ (p. 95). These two fundamental readings, although often in conflict, can, however, work together to contribute to a post-secular space: through their respective critiques of the dynamics of globalization and the limits of the immanent frame; through an understanding that can overcome centre–periphery thinking in a structure of ecclesial-like communion; and through its optimistic anthropology, that is most effective in meeting the whole person.
The second section, Post-Secularity? Critical Reflections, comprises three papers by William T. Cavanaugh, William A. Barbieri Jr (the editor), and Vincent J. Miller. The remarkable discussions here include, respectively: a critical, apposite genealogy of the religion–secular distinction; a useful typology of post-secularity (six constellations that are not exhaustive); and the impact of information technologies on the ‘cultural ecology’ with implications for how the church adapts to ambient change in culture.
In the third section, In and Beyond a Secular Age: Theological Anthropology, again, there are three essays, exploring imagination, agency, and charity. Philip J. Rossi SJ considers individual autonomy as the defining marker of moral agency. This densely argued paper critically explores in Kant the structure and exercise of human moral agency. In particular, it underlines the social dimension of Kant’s account of moral agency (more often neglected but, since the 1980s, rediscovered) and its implications for the function of faith in a public life. A central concern is that of human fragility and vulnerability: ‘I propose that one fundamental way in which faith makes it possible for us to resist the draw to violence lies in its capacity for enabling an encompassing respect for our shared embodied vulnerability’ (p. 242). Mary Doak considers Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclicals, showing a development that is, interestingly, set in counterpoint to, among others, the work of Reinhold Niebuhr.
The final section, Religion in a Post-Secular World, examines the more practical aspects of the role of religion in our ‘post-secular’ landscape, dealing, consecutively, with community, humanism, and pluralism. The exceptionally well written, critically argued, and to some degree iconoclastic (in the good sense) paper from Michele Dillon discusses ‘community’ and ‘community formation’ in a post-secular context (from the perspective of the social sciences). Drawing on Durkeim’s conceptualization of community, Dillon shows that, despite a generalized narrative to the contrary, community life has evolved, is developing new forms, and remains resilient. The paper contests and critiques both Taylor’s reading of contemporary society as being predominantly ‘post-Durkheimian,’ and, importantly, Habermas’s decidedly reserved (and, therefore, prejudiced) acknowledgement of the specific voice of ‘religious citizens’ in public discourse. ‘Habermas’s discussion of how religion might be accommodated in post-secular public discourse suggests … that despite his gesture toward religion there are lingering continuities between his current understanding and the polarized framing of religion and rationality in his earlier theorizing of communicative rationality’ (p. 300). It is by now clear that the secular arc of modernity is being forestalled by the realization that both institutionalized religion and deinstitutionalized spiritual beliefs and practices continue to persist in important ways both in public culture and in individual lives. The final paper, from J. Paul Martin, examines the exclusion–inclusion of religion in the public forum in the context of a globalizing world. The central insight is that we are now witnessing major changes in the global order that in fact compel states to pay attention to, and to work with, religions. ‘Whether one holds religions and states to be part of the problem or part of the solution with respect to violence, they are both real actors in international affairs and need to be at any table where they are de facto stakeholders. Traditional theories of secularism that prescribe a separation of religion and the state, by contrast, have persisted in ruling out religions’ (p. 340).
It is remarkable how little theological reflection per se is to be had in the volume. Most of the papers work within the register of what might be termed phenomenological and historical description, adding to extant narratives of the ‘story’ of secularity, clarifying particular historical and philosophical issues, and suggesting pertinent insights that serve to enhance interdisciplinarity and our understanding of ‘where we are,’ ‘how we got here,’ and ‘how we might go forward.’ This material is, of course, all fascinating and is leading gradually to ‘thicker’ (and, therefore, richer) discourses on the issues at hand. It is, however, for the most part in the domain of ‘scholars of religion’ as opposed to reflecting the work of theology per se. There is a rather limited engagement from the precise perspectives of the disciplines of theology with little enough theological argument. You might even wonder if the very parameters of exploration are unconsciously ‘secularized’ so that theological reflection per se is unwittingly excluded! This may be asking too much of a project of this kind, but there are, I believe, other valuable discussions to be had with theology.
Perhaps the most apropos comment to be made on the book is from Charles Taylor himself, who remarks in his Foreword (and which is carried, not unsurprisingly, on the sleeve): ‘This is a marvellously rich and suggestive book, which has helped to jar me out of the ruts I had fallen into. I am sure it will do the same for many others’ (p. ix).