
Show Notes
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 amplified with the internet. How is the common opinion formed? How are are personal opinions formed? Is something true just because we saw or read it somewhere? Are things in the digital realm as real as things in the tangible?
Reflection:
-What forces and fears are at work when I curate how I express myself in the digital realm?
-What am I doing to develop my own moral conscience and power for reasoned decision making?
References:
-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor: (185-196)
Website:
More from Contemplating Culture: A Missionary Walk Through A Secular Age
In this episode we look at the changing shape of religion post WWII, taking the American case as an example. Here we see the interlocking and reinforcing interplay of family/church/state start to unravel in favour of the seeker, who has no set beginning, end, or path. We note that whilst this search is often seeking fullness in terms of humanism (for the good of the human person), this doesn't always have to be at odds with a genuine faith in the transcendent.
In our milestone 50th episode we set about delivering a summary of the nature, rules, and people that can be found in the Age of Authenticity's marketplace of faith. Listen through for a special memento to celebrate the milestone with us!
What impact did the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s have on how people understood and interacted with the sacred? What has the response of the faith been to this dramatic shift in the western world? Together we explore these questions, and look ultimately to the teaching of Pope St John Paul II as a treasure trove the Age of Authenticity in understanding the beauty of the sexual ethic of the Catholic Church.
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.
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 enduring impacts of it into Western society today. References: -Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 437-472)