Is Liturgy Working? Secularization, Pluralism, and Christian Formation

by Geoffrey Ready, James K. A. Smith

Secularization does not necessarily mean a decrease in religiosity. The philosopher Charles Taylor argues that secularization is a migration of religious devotion from institutional allegiances to other channels. This is a powerful explanatory dynamic.

Geoffrey Ready

The V. Rev. Geoffrey Ready directs the Orthodox School of Theology at the University of Toronto, where he teaches liturgy, Biblical studies, and pastoral theology. He studied in Ottawa and at Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology in Boston and holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto. He served as a priest in Northern Ireland and then in France before returning to Toronto as priest-in-charge of Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission, an OCA parish that meets on the University of Toronto campus.

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James K. A. Smith

A professor of philosophy at Calvin University, where he holds
the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview.
He is also editor-in-chief of Image, a literary quarterly focused on art, faith, and mystery. His book How (Not) To Be Secular (Eerdmans, 2014) examines the posture of Christianity in a pluralistic world, drawing on the work of philosopher Charles Taylor.

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