Renowned philosopher to speak about faith in modern era at BU

By Linda Nguyen
Staff Writer

He’s the greatest philosopher in the world, according to some.

Dr. Charles Taylor, professor of philosophy at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, will speak at 7:30 p.m. today in the Meditation Room in the Armstrong Browning Library as part of the Roy B. Albaugh Lecture series sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa.

His lecture, “21st Century Religion: Faith in the Age of Authenticity,” is free and open to the public.

Dr. Michael Foley, chair of the Albaugh Lecture Committee of the Phi Beta Kappa chapter of Baylor University and associate professor of Patristics in the Honors College, said the annual lecture series has been going on for several decades.

“The goal is to bring a prominent intellectual figure to Baylor for the benefit of the university and the Waco community,” Foley said. “We’ve had very impressive speakers in the past. This year will be no exception.”

Foley said Taylor is considered one of the world’s greatest living philosophers.

“We chose him because, not only is he considered to be one of the world’s greatest living philosophers, but also because we were convinced he would contribute to conversation at Baylor, especially regarding matters relating to religious faith,” Foley said.

“Dr. Taylor is a very intelligent commentator about faith in the modern age.”

Foley said the lecture will build upon one of Taylor’s most famous works, a book titled “A Secular Age.”
“In it, he talked about faith in an age of secularism,” Foley said. “He’s further reflecting about this theme as we continue going forward into the 21st century. It will be really interesting to people interested in Dr. Taylor’s works, and it will also be very interesting to people who are new to Dr. Taylor’s thought.”