A good introduction – from James KA Smith – for those interested in secularism and the work of Charles Taylor. Thanks, Nathan.
Let me begin on a positive note. This is a very good introduction to Charles Taylor’s 
seminal ideas in A Secular Age. For those scared of Taylor’s ideatic behemoth, this will be a very easy path to walk into Taylor’s thought-world. Smith presents the main ideas and eye-opening categories in Taylor’s book with clarity and rhetorical panache.
As far as the negatives go, I wish he had more (pop) cultural references inserted throughout the book. The first few pages are somewhat deceptive, in that the personal address to preachers and pastors doing ministry in ‘a secular age’ fades, ultimately into nothingness, as the book progresses. It feels like Smith himself gets bogged down in Taylor’s intricate thought-world and forgets to resurface in order to reconnect with his practitioner-readers. Also, the book ends rather abruptly. Smith does not feel the need to offer broad conclusions, assessing Taylor’s contribution.
It would have been…
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