Charles Taylor 's Religion In The View Of Modernity

Religion is an old but new topic. It has been here since human were born until now it keeps enduring and maintains strong power. With its own characteristics, it attracted numerous scholars to study it. They tried to uncover its mysterious veil, which thus produced many eminent religious scholars, Max Muller, Frazer, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, etc. Some of them may not be engaged with the study of religion for their whole life. However for the development of religion’s study, they have made an indelible contribution. Charles Taylor, as a modern scholar, chose from the perspective of modern research into the study of religion. At the same time, he expected to find the prescription treatment of modern diseases. Eventually he discovered in the religious domain:we need to rebuild consensus of meanings, but in the context of modern society the reconstruction of the consensus must relink secularization and transcendence. Secular society can not lose religious transcendence, otherwise it will fall into meaninglessness and anxiety.This article will mainly focus on the first religious writings of Charles Taylor:Varieties of Religion Today:William James Revisited. Taylor tried to explore religious problems in modernity perspective in the book. Furthermore, from individual experience he mainly painted a picture of the modern spirit of pluralism for us, which of course, is not only confined to religion, but also includes atheistic stance beyond religion.Taylor has his own unique points for interpretation of religion, because he standed on the modern conception of anxiety, deep concerns for human subjectivity. He was focusing on the whole society, or at least the western world to overlook the religion in this area, which without doubt leads him to step out of the study of religion peculiar frame. For Religious Studies, his concerning about the individual religious experience and reflection study of religious experience have given us new perspectives on thinkings. He concluded from the various phenomena that modern society is a diverse and mobile spirit picture and that the diversity is not about the reductionism. Because modern society is a multipartite complex, which is comprehensive and all-encompassing, and this is expression of its vitality. For the interaction of religion and in other areas of society, this idea has great practical significance. At the same time, Taylor’s thoughts on religion has some enlightment for Chinese religious study.