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.

References

-A Secular Age by Charles Taylor (p. 505-513)

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!

References

-A Secular Age by Charles Taylor

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.

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 486-504)

-https://www.youtube.com/@TheologyoftheBodyInstitute

-https://www.youtube.com/@jasonevert

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.

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 473-486)

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)

In this episode we begin a new section of A Secular Age, looking at how various parties construct their narratives of secularisation and the impact this has.

There is a pervading notion that religion is either false, irrelevant, or unattractive, and that secularisation is a simple transfer of this reality via diffusion and differentiation. The narrative would say that those wishing to sustain religion must find new purpose to give it.

We would say that it's the other way around- faith sustains us, and is the truest, most relevant, most attractive thing.

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 423-437)

In this episode we explore how the British synthesis of duty and altruism fared through the world wars. As faith was shaken, numerous options emerged (or were forged) to help people find a meaningful way forward.

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 407-419)

In this episode we examine the British ethic of the 19th century that arises with its principles of being British, decency, Protestantism, and civilisation. These values are embedded into schooling, and find their peak heading into the First World War.

As always, a pendulum swing comes in the other direction advocating for the redemption of spontaneity and freedom, and a gamut of positions emerge as viable options.

All positions will find something missing once they have removed the transcendent and tried to make sense of things without God.

References:

-Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor (pp 391-407)