Germain F McKenzie | St. Mark's College (original) (raw)

Books by Germain F McKenzie

This book examines “Taylorean social theory,” its sources, main characteristics and impact. Charl... more This book examines “Taylorean social theory,” its sources, main characteristics and impact. Charles Taylor’s meta-narrative of secularization in the West, prominently contained in his major work A Secular Age (2007), has brought new insight on the social and cultural factors that intervened in such process, the role of human agency, and particularly on the contemporary conditions of belief in North America and Europe. This study discusses what Taylor’s approach has brought to the scholarly debate on Western secularization, which has been carried on mostly in sociological terms. McKenzie interprets Taylor’s views in a way that offers an original social theory. Such interpretation is possible with the help of sociologist Margaret Archer’s “morphogenetic theory” and by making the most of Taylor’s particular understanding of the method of the social sciences and of his philosophical views on human beings, knowledge and modernity. After exploring the philosophical and sociological sources informing Taylorean social theory and proposing its basic concepts and hermeneutic guidelines, the author compares it with two widespread theories of secularization: the now waning “orthodox” account and that proposed by Rational Choice Theory scholars, particularly prevalent in the United States. In doing so, the book shows in which ways Taylorean social theory supersedes them, what new issues it brings into the scholarly discussion, and what difficulties might limit its future development.

Catholic Social Science Review, 2018

Book review on my work Interpreting Charles Taylor's Social Theory on Religion and Secularization.

Entries in Edited Books by Germain F McKenzie

The Cambridge History of Atheism, 2021

This piece analyzes the main sociological trends in regard to atheists in Spanish-speaking Latin ... more This piece analyzes the main sociological trends in regard to atheists in Spanish-speaking Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries, offers an interpretation of them in the manner of a narrative, and applies such interpretation to the Peruvian case. In order to achieve its purpose, it also refers to the religiously unaffiliated population.

This article expands on Buddhism in Peru through a demographic analysis of lineages and groups, a... more This article expands on Buddhism in Peru through a demographic analysis of lineages and groups, and gives an overview of the characteristics of the latter while taking into account their mutual relationships as well as their connections to scholars interested in Buddhism. It also analyzes the influence of Buddhism on Peruvian society and culture, focusing on sociological trends due to socio-economic stratification, institutionalization, public exposure, enculturation and the existence of a free religious market. Its theoretical framework is constituted by two approaches: that of religious economies and subcultural identity theories.

Monographs by Germain F McKenzie

Articles by Germain F McKenzie

Soto Zen has grown in importance in Peru since 2005, a phenomenon that has not yet been well stud... more Soto Zen has grown in importance in Peru since 2005, a phenomenon that has not yet been well studied. To analyze such a process, this research uses the " processive modes " theory as developed by M. Baumann and the Rational Choice Theory as applied to religion by R. Stark and R. Finke. It draws upon qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and written questionnaires conducted in two stages, the first one between 2007 and 2009, and the second one in 2013, as well as through participant observation. This study concludes that after deploying important organizational, institutional, communicational and financial resources, today's Soto Zen presence in Peru can be characterized by the drive to adapt its tradition to Peruvians on the one hand, and maintaining a connection to its roots on the other. As a consequence of these two realities, the Soto Zen community is facing tensions between ordained leadership and lay members. These may jeopardize the strategic position the community has within the Peruvian religious marketplace.

Papers by Germain F McKenzie

Just after being elected, on March 13 th , 2013, Pope Francis greeted those gathered in St. Peter... more Just after being elected, on March 13 th , 2013, Pope Francis greeted those gathered in St. Peter's Square with a "good evening" and, among other things, asked them to pray for one another in the Church so the People of God may live in love and fraternity. He also asked all to pray for all people in the world, "that they may be a great spirit of fraternity." 1 The following day, in his homily during the Mass with the cardinal electors, he affirmed that the center of the life of the Church is the profession of faith in Jesus Christ: "If we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church … When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness." Assuming that these words reflect some of the pope's greatest concerns, given the occasions in which they were pronounced, one could ask several questions: How does he understand the relationship between what seems the horizontal dimension of fraternity and the vertical dimension of professing Jesus Christ? What meanings does he attach to "world" and "worldliness"? How, in his mind, does the Church profess Jesus Christ while concretely existing in and through local churches who have set roots among peoples with different cultures? It is specifically to this last question that I want to dedicate my attention.

Although Soto Zen first reached Peru with the Japanese immigration process of 1899-1936, it almos... more Although Soto Zen first reached Peru with the Japanese immigration process of 1899-1936, it almost disappeared from the country's religious landscape after World War II. It is in recent years that a strong transplantation process into Peru has been taking place. The present paper uses M. Baumann's " processive modes " to describe it. As part of a broader research on Buddhism in Peru, this study draws upon qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and written questionnaires between 2007 and 2009. In this context, it concludes that contemporary Soto Zen presence in Peru can be better characterized by the modes of Confrontation, Ambiguity and Re-orientation. The increase of an urban-educated population and the situation of free competition within the " religious market, " as well as a Soto Zen " religious capital, " in Japanese-Peruvians, appear as key factors that are favorable to its transplantation.

The notion of social structure has gained a clearer definition thanks to the relatively recent wo... more The notion of social structure has gained a clearer definition thanks to the relatively recent work of sociologists. Despite its importance for understanding of problems addressed by social ethics and moral theology, it has not been interpreted in a Thomistic key, which still constitutes the most used philosophical mediation in Catholic theology. This paper draws on the Thomistic Personalist approach of W. Norris Clarke to interpret Christian Smith's explanation of the origin and nature of social structures. It affirms that the interplay between needs/interests and scarcity/ limitations is what explains the origin of social structures as it can be seen in Aquinas' view of the political system. Also, the Thomistic account of habits and relationality illumines the way in which patterns of social interaction-which are internalized as habits of the intellect, the will, emotions and even the body-create a sense of self based on social roles and group association. Lastly, the downward causality exerted by social structures is given foundation by Clarke's suggestion of a new category in Thomistic metaphysics, on that he calls "system." The piece concludes with some reasons that make it worthy to pursue this and similar studies both for sociology and Catholic theology.

This paper explores what is it that Thomistic Personalism can contribute to the better understand... more This paper explores what is it that Thomistic Personalism can contribute to the better understanding of the relationship between social structures and the human person. The piece has four parts. The first one introduces the problem of social structures and human agency. The second one shows the more important topics that any personalist approach should touch upon to illumine such problem, taking insights from the work by American sociologist Christian Smith. In third place, I explain how is it that the Thomistic Personalism proposed by Clarke sheds light on the human person as social and historical. Lastly, I conclude with some conclusive remarks on the contributions that Clarke’s though may be able to offer to the problem at hand, as well as on the work that remains to be done.

Interpreting Charles Taylor’s Social Theory on Religion and Secularization

Taylorean social theory brings new insights to the debate on secularization in the West. In order... more Taylorean social theory brings new insights to the debate on secularization in the West. In order to articulate them, this chapter compares it with both the "orthodox" and "counter-orthodox" models. In each case, it explores the ways in which my views criticize these theories and furthers the conversation by explaining secularization, I think, more perspicuously and by proposing new issues. In regards with the "orthodox" model, along with criticisms shared by many about social facts not substantiating its claims, it considers that reducing religion as epiphenomenal misinterprets social facts in themselves, sees structural differentiation as not elimination the role of religious motivations, and calls into question the possibility of a strict secular/religious divide. In regard to rational choice theory (RCT), Taylorean social theory main criticism is to its naturalistic methodology, its views of systems as closed, the way RCT privileges instrumental rationality over others, and its interpretation of religious allegiances based exclusively on acts of choice. RCT is seen as unduly stressing structures in detriment of human agency, and social factors in detriment of cultural ones. Taylorean social theory offers positive arguments into the debate when it redefi nes secularization as religious change, and brings back the cultural factors operative in that social process, as well as the morphogenetic role of human agency (via social movements). Among the pending tasks of Taylorean social theory it needs to produce a clearer set of criteria to incorporate the results of (less hermeneutically-oriented) studies from mainstream sociology, as well as explaining social movements dynamics.

Taylor’s criticisms of what he calls “mainstream sociology” have led him to choose among contempo... more Taylor’s criticisms of what he calls “mainstream sociology” have led him to choose among contemporary sociological thinkers those who have more culturally- and hermeneutically-sensitive approaches, and those who he can reinterpret in such terms. The more important scholars in this regard are David Martin, Jose Casanova, Hans Joas and, in a lesser degree, Robert Bellah, particularly in the ways in which they see secularization as having multiple trajectories, which are affected by social and cultural factors, a process which is in no way linear. Another point of contact is the way in which they consider the secular/religious divide to be porous, unstable and subject to different legal arrangements. Ideas such as deprivatization of religion, Axial Religion, civil religion, and religious fragilization have also been assimilated from them by Taylor. A second tier of influences refers to work of sociologists Taylor uses for elaborating more specific topics. He cites Benedict Anderson and...

The philosophical sources of Taylor’s meta-narrative are his own works on the human person and on... more The philosophical sources of Taylor’s meta-narrative are his own works on the human person and on the hermeneutic methodology of the social sciences. In regard to the former, his views of non-metaphysical human constants as that of being self-interpretive and ethically-bounded selves, have direct impact on the way in which he developed the notion of social imaginaries. As per the latter, Taylor’s views are inspired by a strong criticism of the modern model of knowledge, and by affirming that man knows only in the context of non-thematized frameworks in which he lives. As a consequence, scientific methods of universal applicability should be replaced with ad hoc criteria for interpretations localized in time and space. More concretely, this means that a social scientist, while studying any social fact, needs to take into account three levels of interpretations: that of the meaning already present in such a fact, that shared by the social agent under study with the society in which it...

Taylorean social theory is a particular interpretation of Taylor’s meta-narrative on secularizati... more Taylorean social theory is a particular interpretation of Taylor’s meta-narrative on secularization. It is “social theory” in the sense that it offers a theoretical understanding of the social processes and social agents involved in secularization as social change. This understanding requires a greater hermeneutical work than that by mainstream sociology. Its analysis makes particular use of the ideas of social imaginaries and elite-masses dynamics. Its sources include those coming from Taylor philosophical anthropology and his views on the method of the social sciences. They also include the sociological sources for his meta-narrative, as well as the work by Margaret Archer and other sociologists and thinkers. Taylorean social theory can be characterized by seeing the interaction between structure and human agency as circular, by the recognition of the ability of human agency (particularly that organized as social movements) to change structures, by insisting on an equally importan...

The contemporary debate over secularization for the most part belongs to sociology of religion. A... more The contemporary debate over secularization for the most part belongs to sociology of religion. Among classical sociologists, Western secularization has been generally interpreted as a process of decline of the relevance and influence of religion (Comte), of its demise as an illusion oppressive of the proletariat (Marx), of its transformation into a “religion of man” (Durkheim), or of relocation into a narrower sphere due to rationalization (Weber). At the present, it is possible to formulate an ideal type of three groups of theories involved in the conversation. The orthodox model affirms the project of modernity unavoidably erodes religion and marginalizes it, particularly because science and pluralism discredit religious worldviews. On an opposite end, the rational choice model sees secularization as fostering religious vitality due to the establishment of a “free religious market” in which religious organizations compete with each other. The debate between these positions has be...

Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 2016

Charles Taylor’s meta-narrative of secularization, and in general his philosophical work,refers i... more Charles Taylor’s meta-narrative of secularization, and in general his philosophical work,refers in different ways and with diverse attitudes to the so-called “founding fathers” of sociology: Weber, Durkheim and Marx. This paper situates Taylor’s thought in relation to them, starting withMax Weber, the classical figure most influential on it

Catholic Social Science Review, 2018

Book review on my work Interpreting Charles Taylor's Social Theory on Religion and Secularization.

The Cambridge History of Atheism, 2021

Interpreting Charles Taylor’s Social Theory on Religion and Secularization

Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 2016

This paper examines the relevant philosophical sources of the Taylorean account ofsecularization,... more This paper examines the relevant philosophical sources of the Taylorean account ofsecularization, giving insight into the main ideas that underpin the meta-narrative in his book A Secular Age and other secularization-related works.

Although Soto Zen first reached Peru with the Japanese immigration process of 1899-1936, it almos... more Although Soto Zen first reached Peru with the Japanese immigration process of 1899-1936, it almost disappeared from the country’s religious landscape after World War II. It is in recent years that a strong transplantation process into Peru has been taking place. The present paperuses M. Baumann’s “processive modes” to describe such transplantation. As part of a broader research on Buddhism in Peru, this study draws upon qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and written questionnaires in two waves, the first one between 2007 and2009, and the second one in 2013. In this context, it concludes that contemporary Soto Zen presence in Peru can be better characterized by the modes of Confrontation, Ambiguity and Re-orientation. Looking into the future, and from the perspective of a “religious economy” approach, the increase of an urban-educated population and the situation of free competition within the “religious market,” as well as the presence of Soto Zen “religious capital” in Japanese-Peruvians, appear as key factors that are favorable to its transplantation. However, this positive prospect may become compromised if it does not adapt more fluidly to Peruvian culture.

This paper is part of a broader study of the underlying sociological account of secularization in... more This paper is part of a broader study of the underlying sociological account of secularization in the Westin Charles Taylor´s thought. Taylor’s work on the subject consists of a meta-narrative that blends together sociological, historical and philosophical approaches. Here I delineate Taylor’s sociological view of social change and illustrate the manner in which its constitutive elements are influenced by his philosophical orientation and assumptions. In a nutshell, social change is seen as caused by multiple“material” and “non material” factors, the analysis of which should avoid the generalizations of all-encompassing theories, and for which the notion of “social imaginary” is key in articulating social dynamics with individual motivations. Taylor’s philosophical views on the hermeneutic nature of the social sciences are an important framework for his views on social change

The first impression one gets from Charles Taylor’s account of secularization in the West is that... more The first impression one gets from Charles Taylor’s account of secularization in the West is that it shares some of the characteristic features of Max Weber’s sociological approach: an interpretive understanding of the social sciences, the focus on the link between human motivation and social behavior, the use of ideal-types, a multi-causal approach to social change, and a view of religious motivation not as a by-product of other factors but with life of its own. One may ask, however, if these coincidences allow one to say that Taylor’s methodology follows that of Weber or whether there are differences, and, if differences do exist, what these differences are.

Business Ethics teaching today is in need of an increased multicultural awareness. This is for tw... more Business Ethics teaching today is in need of an increased multicultural awareness. This is for two complementary reasons: (a) business is growing globally more and more, involving an increasing contact between different cultures and ethical systems; (b) the development of the discipline in the West is conditioned by a cultural bias due to the prevalence of both a skeptic and a utilitarian views on ethics, as well as a widespread belief about the Western experience of modernity as being normative of modernization elsewhere. These reasons pose challenges to both the way in which the discipline is understood and how it is taught. This article assesses the problem at the level of religious studies, philosophy and business ethics specifically, and explores ways of meeting the mentioned challenges at the teaching level from the standpoint of virtue ethics

The present paper uses M. Baumann’s “processive modes” to describe the current situation of Soto ... more The present paper uses M. Baumann’s “processive modes” to describe the current situation of Soto Zen in Peru. As part of a broader research on Buddhism in Peru, this study draws upon qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and written questionnaires between 2007 and 2009. In this context, it concludes that contemporary Soto Zen presence in Peru can be better characterized by the modes of Confrontation, Ambiguity and Re-orientation.