Charles Taylor on Secularization and Christian Values

Charles Taylor on Secularization and Christian Values

HUNG Tsz Wan Andrew

This article explores the role of religious values in secular societies. Many secular humanists believe that everyone in the public sphere should participate in discussions with public reason, and that religious values and rationality should not be used in the public domain. This paper points out that this secular humanist view involves two aspects: (1) the relationship between reason, language and culture; and (2) the meaning of secularization. Thus, it will explore Charles Taylor's philosophy of language and secularization, and argue that all languages and rationalities are inevitably based on some historical moral structures, and there is no public rationality that can go beyond historical culture. And the article also shows that many scholars mistakenly believe that secularization is the result of rational and scientific development; for Taylor, the process of secularization ( including scientific development) actually originated from the transformation of medieval theology and social changes derived from a series of religious reforms, and the impact of natural theology that was then developed. The development of secularization and the values of secular society are mostly derived from the values and concern of Christianity. If all religions and cultures are excluded from the public deliberation, our deep understanding of and reflection on today's values will be greatly weakened. Finally, the article responds to the anticipated criticism of genetic fallacy, and argues that believers should use both religious and non-religious languages in public deliberation, as there is no strong justification to exclude religious reasons from the public sphere.