On June 11, 2018 a public lecture by Prof. Emeritus Charles Taylor (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) was successfully held in Athens (National Hellenic Research Foundation, amphitheater “L. Zervas,”) on the topic: “Christianity in the West’s Secular Age.” The event was co-organized by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and the Project “Science and Orthodoxy around the World – SOW” of the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation.
The event was briefly greeted by Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis (Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies; Lecturer, Hellenic Open University; Research Fellow, KU Leuven) and Dr. Efthymios Nikolaidis (Director, Project “Science and Orthodoxy around the World – SOW” of the Institute of Historical Research).
In his lecture Charles Taylor referred to the surrounding secular setting in which modern man lives and develops, after both the gradual disenchantment of the world by any transcendent dimension and the unbundling of life from the communal forms of the past and to the fact that today’s people either belong to a religious community without believing or believe without feeling obliged to follow the traditional ritual acts of the community, announcing thus the decline and eventual dissolution of the institutional Christendom. As he pointed out, having been studied for many years the historical evolution of the basic traditions of Western Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), he wanted to see to what extent his theory of secularization applies also to the context of the Orthodox tradition. His approach was that of a faithful Catholic thinker who is looking for ways to revive his own faith. Against the immanent character of the surrounding reality, Taylor argued that there are still many who seek for a transcendental foundation of their faith, or in any way resist this prospect, while others oppose to the cultural and religious pluralism of the society considering it as a threat. The eminent philosopher also referred to the various failings of the Western Christian tradition since Luther, expressing his concern for the overemphasis given to individual salvation, and also for the particular tendency of the Roman Catholic Church to create institutions of earthly power without the necessary spiritual background. At this point, he further noted the need for a deeper acquaintance with the Orthodox tradition, which would be able to contribute positively to the overcoming of the possible impasses of Western Christianity.
At the end of his lecture, Professor Taylor had the opportunity to address several questions of the audience (included Professors Emeriti, academics, historians, philosophers, sociologists, theologians and many students as well as other people interested in similar topics), dealing inter alia with the relationship between Christianity and secularism and the possible contribution of Orthodoxy to their dialogue as well as with the problematic link between religion and nationalism.
For a detailed presentation of the event click here to read the reportage of the newspaper “I Kathimerini” (in Greek).
The video of the lecture.
