Professor Ruth Abbey, University of Notre Dame

Title of Paper: 'A Secular Age: the Missing Question Mark'
Abstract: In A Secular Age, Charles Taylor experiments with a number of formulations in his attempt to articulate what is distinctive about the contemporary conditions of religious belief and experience in westernized societies. These include: 1) the quest for Religious Authenticity; 2) the phenomenon of Cross Pressures and Fragilization; 3) the Three Cornered Contest between Exclusive Humanism, the Immanent Counter-Enlightenment and Religion; 4) the Ideal of Fullness; and 5) the Immanent Frame. This paper examines these approaches in turn and poses some unanswered questions about both the meaning of each and their relationship to one another. The paper goes on to ask how secular contemporary westernized societies really are, and concludes that Taylor's own framework can be used to show that religious belief is not as marginal as many of his remarks suggest.
Biography: Professor Ruth Abbey researches and teaches in the areas of contemporary political theory, history of political thought, and feminist political thought at the University of Notre Dame. She is also Center Faculty Fellow (2008-2009) at The Murphy Institute, Tulane University. She is the author of Nietzsche's Middle Period (Oxford University Press, 2000) and of Charles Taylor (Acumen Press and Princeton University Press), which was selected as one of the 2002 Outstanding Academic Titles by Choice Magazine. She is the editor of Contemporary Philosophy in Focus: Charles Taylor (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Professor Abbey has also written a number of journal articles on topics ranging from contemporary liberalism to conceptions of marriage to animal ethics. She received a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship and a research fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, as well as a number of smaller research grants. Her current research project belongs to the general area of cyberdemocracy; it looks at seniors who are politically active to explore their experience of and relationship to new information and communication technologies.

Rev. Dr. Eoin G. Cassidy, Head of the Philosophy Department, Mater Dei Institute of Education

Title of Paper: "'Transcending Human Flourishing': Is There a Need for a Subtler Language?"
Abstract: While acknowledging the appropriateness of the transcendence/immanence distinction to underscore the cultural shift occasioned by the rise of Modernity and the emergence of a secular age, I argue against the suitability of using this distinction as a template to discuss the fate of religion in this secular age. If Taylor is correct and 'the swirling debate between belief and unbelief' is about what real fullness consists in, then the distinction risks fuelling the suspicion that religion is an escapist or cowardly flight from the world. Furthermore, I suggest that, unless carefully nuanced, the distinction could be perceived inaccurately as providing an explanatory hypothesis for the decline of religion, an hypothesis that takes little of no account of the possibility that the emergence of this immanent frame might in fact be a catalyst for religious renewal.
Biography: Rev. Dr. Eoin G. Cassidy is a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin. Since 1981 he has lectured in philosophy at the Mater Dei Institute, Dublin City University. He is a former Registrar of the Institute and is currently head of the Philosophy Department in the School of Humanities. Over the course of his career he has served in executive positions in the Irish Philosophy Society, the Irish Theological Association and the Royal Irish Academy (philosophy committee). For a period of five years he was also executive secretary of the Irish Centre for Faith and Culture (St. Patrick's College, Maynooth). Currently, he is a member of the sector-based group in Political Science of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). Dr. Cassidy has published numerous books and articles in the area of faith and culture including: forthcoming, Who Is My Neighbour?: The Contribution of Deus Caritas Est to Religious Discourse in Contemporary Ireland, (Dublin: Veritas, 2009); Community, Constitution and Ethos: Democratic Values and Citizenship in the Face of Globalization, (Dublin: Otior Press, 2008); The Common Good in an Unequal World: Reflections on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, (Dublin: Veritas, 2007); and, with Ian Leask, Givenness and God: Questions of Jean-Luc Marion, in the series 'Perspectives in Continental Philosophy' edited by J. Caputo, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2005).

Professor Eamonn Conway, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

Title of Paper: 'The Glass Half-full: Bases for Hope in a Christian Future for Ireland' (provisional)
Biography: Professor Eamonn Conway is a priest of the Tuam diocese. He studied philosophy and sociology at NUIM and theology at Maynooth and Tübingen. He was awarded a doctorate in theology in 1991 and then taught at All Hallows College, Dublin. He was appointed Head of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick in 1999 and in 2000 co-founded the Centre for Culture, Technology & Values (http://cctv.mic.ul.ie). Prof. Conway's publications range from writings on Karl Rahner and Hans Urs Von Balthasar to contemporary issues at the interface between Culture, Technology and Christian Faith. He has guest lectured in mainland Europe, Australia, the USA, Singapore and Cambodia.
Professor Conway has served on the Irish Government's Information Society Commission for which he chaired the Working Group on Ethics & Values in a Digital Age and was a member of the E-Futures and E-Learning Committees. He currently serves on the Futures Ireland Advisory Panel of the National Economic and Social Development Office (www.futuresireland.ie). He is also a member of IBEC's Education and Training Policy Committee and of the Asia Studies Ireland Association (ASIA). Prof. Conway was elected Vice-President of the European Society for Catholic Theology (http://www.kuleuven.be/eurotheo/) in 2007 and will become President in August 2009.

Professor Michael Conway, Director of the Irish Centre for Faith and Culture, Pontifical University of Maynooth

Title of Paper: 'The Chaste Morning of the Infinite: Secularisation between the Social Sciences and Theology'
Biography: Professor Michael Conway is a priest of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora (ordained 1989). Professor pursued his undergraduate studies at NUIM and St. Patrick's College, Maynooth (B.Sc Mathematical Sciences, BD.). He proceeded to graduate studies at NUIM (M.Sc. Mathematics), Gregorian University Rome (STL), Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat, Freiburg i. Br. (D. Theol). From 1990-1995 he was engaged in parish ministry inSt. Brigid's Parish, Ballybane, Galway. From 2000-2006, Professor Conway was Director of Higher Diploma in Theological Studies at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he has also been employed as a Lecturer in Systematic Theology since 2000. In 2006, he was appointed Professor of Faith and Culture and Director of Irish Centre for Faith and Culture. He is also the Editor of the Irish Theological Quarterly.

Dr. Stephen J. Costello, Dublin Business School

Title of Paper: Beyond Flourishing: 'Fullness' and 'Conversion' in Taylor and Lonergan
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe and unpack, phenomenologically, the notion of 'fullness' as it prefigures in Charles Taylor's A Secular Age. For Taylor, 'fullness' relates us to transcendence and, as such, it is beyond flourishing (eudaimonia). Taylor is, so, implicitly critiquing the eudaimonistic ethic which has proved to be so pervasive in the Western philosophical tradition. Taylor's understanding and explication of 'fullness', 'flourishing' and 'fulfilment' will be expounded. In the last chapter of A Secular Age, Taylor labels such experiences of fullness 'conversions', a notion extensively explored by Bernard Lonergan, SJ, in his Method in Theology. This paper concludes with Lonergan's more nuanced account of the notion of conversion which fills in the gaps of Taylor's reflections on the subject, thus adding some significant and salient features that aid us in appreciating the dynamics involved in moral, intellectual and religious conversion.
Biography: Dr. Stephen J. Costello is a philosopher, lecturer, and author. He was educated at St. Gerard's School, Castleknock College and University College Dublin, where he read Philosophy and Spanish language and literature. He was a two-time gold-medallist debater. He gained a Masters and a Ph.D. degree in Philosophy. Subsequently, he trained in psychoanalysis. Dr. Costello has lectured philosophy for the past twenty years and is currently Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Dublin Business School. He is the author of Basil Hume: Builder of Community, The Irish Soul: In Dialogue and The Pale Criminal: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. He is editor of Credo: Faith and Philosophy in Contemporary Ireland and of The Search for Spirituality: Seven Paths Within the Catholic Tradition. Dr. Costello is a member of the Irish Philosophical Society and of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. He holds a black belt in Aikido and is a senior student of Wing Tsun Kung Fu. His forthcoming book is entitled: Eric Voegelin's 'Flow of Presence': Desire, Drama and the Divine Ground of Being.

Professor Michael Cronin, Dublin City University

Title of Paper: 'Believe it or not: Secularism and the "Crisis" of European Multiculturalism'
Biography: Professor Michael Cronin holds a Personal Chair in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Dublin City University, Ireland. He is author of Translating Ireland: Translation, Languages and Identity (Cork University Press, 1996); Across the Lines: Travel, Language, Translation (Cork University Press, 2000); Translation and Globalization (London, Routledge, 2003). Time Tracks: Scenes from the Irish Everyday (Dublin, New Island, 2003. Reprinted 2003); Irish in the New Century/An Ghaeilge san Aois Nua (Dublin, Cois Life, 2005), Translation and Identity (Routledge, 2006); The Barrytown Trilogy (Cork University Press: Ireland into Film series, 2007); Translation goes to the Movies (Routledge 2008). He is co-editor of Tourism in Ireland: A Critical Analysis (Cork University Press, 1993); Anthologie de nouvelles irlandaises (Québec, L'Instant même, 1997); Unity in Diversity? Current Trends in Translation Studies (Manchester, St. Jerome Press, 1998); Reinventing Ireland: Culture, Society and the Global Economy (London, Pluto Press, 2002); Irish Tourism: Image, Culture and Identity (Clevedon, Channel View Publications, 2003); The Languages of Ireland (Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2003); Transforming Ireland, co-edited with Peadar Kirby and Debbie Ging will be published by Manchester University Press in spring 2009. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and co-editor of The Irish Review.

Dr. Conor Cunningham, Assistant Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Title of Paper: 'Refusing Communion: Secularization, ultra-Darwinism and the Reign of the Neanderthal.' (Provisional)
Biography: Dr. Conor Cunningham was born in Belfast and only left that idyll to study Law at the University of Kent. There, he came under the influence of the Catholic Marxist, David Mclellan who, despite holding the Chair in Political Theory, decided to also read for a Law degree. Following graduation, Dr. Cunningham moved to the University of Dundee to study for an M. Phil., in Philosophy under the supervision of the Jean-François Lyotard and Giles Deleuze scholar, James Williams. On completing his M. Phil. with distinction, Conor went to the University of Cambridge to read for the Diploma in Theology. Upon completion of this, he was awarded a British Academy Studentship to study for a Ph.D. Initially doing so under the supervision of John Milbank, but when he took up a Chair at the University of Virginia, Professor Graham Ward took over the mantle.
Dr. Cunningham's first book was entitled Genealogy of Nihilism: Philosophies of Nothing and the Difference of Theology, which interpreted Western philosophy as a continuous manifestation of an invariant logic, one that was inherently nihilistic, being so because it was both a repeated attempt to bracket a proper understanding of transcendence and a heretical understanding of the nature of immanence. His second book was Evolution: Darwin's Pious Idea. This book offers a critique of ultra-Darwinism, Intelligent Design, and ontological naturalism, whilst at the same time providing a positive reading of Darwin's theory of evolution. Dr. Cunningham's next work will provide an interpretation and critique of recent French philosophy, especially the work of Giles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, François Laruelle, and Quentin Meillassoux. This book bears the provisional title–The Failures of Immanence. Along with Peter M Candler, Conor is the editor of two book series: Interventions (Wm B Eerdmans) and Veritas (SCM). He was also the writer and presenter of the BBC2 documentary: Did Darwin Kill God?
Dr. Cunningham's research interests include metaphysics, philosophical theology, philosophy of religion, and phenomenology. As well as lecturing in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, he is also assistant director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, University of Nottingham (www.theologyphilosophycentre.co.uk).

Dr. Joseph Dunne, St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra

Biography: Joseph Dunne is Principal Lecturer in Philosophy of Education and Head of Human Development at St. Patrick's College, Dublin City University. He is author of Back to the Rough Ground: Practical Judgement and the Lure of Technique (foreword by Alasdair MacIntyre, Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997). He has also co-edited Questioning Ireland: Debates in Political Philosophy and Public Policy (Dublin: IPA, 2000); Childhood and its Discontents: The First Seamus Heaney Lectures (Dublin: Liffey Press, 2002); and Education and Practice: Upholding the Integrity of Teaching and Learning (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004). His Persons in Practice: Essays in Education and Public Philosophy is forthcoming from University of Notre Dame Press.

Professor Michael Paul Gallagher, Gregorian University, Rome

Public lecture: 'Translating Taylor: pastoral and theological implications.'
Abstract: Charles Taylor's reading of the history of secular sensibility offers many insights into the spiritual crisis of our culture. This presentation will seek to 'push' his approach towards more specifically theological and pastoral themes. It hopes to make explicit what remains implicit, and even shy, in his religious explorations, putting him in imagined dialogue with some major theologians. One goal of the lecture will be to make Taylor accessible and pertinent for religious education.
Biography: Michael Paul Gallagher is an Irish Jesuit priest, who entered religious life at the age of 22, having studied literature at universities in Dublin and Caen (France). He went on to studies in literature and theology at Oxford, Johns Hopkins and Queen's University, Belfast. From 1972 to 1990 he lectured in modern English literature at University College, Dublin. He moved to Rome in 1990 to work in the Vatican, first in the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers and later in the Pontifical Council for Culture. He then became professor of fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, where from 2005 to 2008 he was dean of the faculty of theology. He is the author of about ten books of spiritual and fundamental theology, including Dive Deeper: the human poetry of faith (London, 2003), Clashing Symbols: an introduction to faith and culture (2nd edition, London and New York, 2003), and The Disturbing Freshness of Christ (Veritas booklet, Dublin 2008).

Dr. Pádraig Hogan, NUI Maynooth

Title of Paper: 'Religious Inheritances of Learning and the 'Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity.'
Abstract: From an educational standpoint, among the more significant recent trends that Taylor highlights in A Secular Age are: a decline in the level of understanding of 'the great languages of transcendence'; the rise of a culture of individual 'authenticity' and choice; a growing gulf between organised religion and a 'privatized spirituality'. Where religious inheritances of long ancestry are concerned, he concludes that 'a massive unlearning is taking place.' At the same time he insists that 'our age is far from settling in to a comfortable unbelief.' Influential developments like these in Western societies, together with the rise of more militant forms of religious conviction in other regions, but with decisive consequences for the West, present religious education with a historically new set of challenges.
Bearing in mind such developments, my main concern in this paper is to explore the kinds of hearing and engagement that religious inheritances of learning might fruitfully be afforded in today's formal environments of learning. A related concern is the pedagogical one of investigating how such hearing and engagement might best be promoted in practice.
Biography: Pádraig Hogan is a Senior Lecturer in the Education Department at National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is a graduate of National University of Ireland, Galway, and of the University of Dublin, Trinity College. He has published over 100 scholarly items, including books and edited collections, papers in international journals, and commissioned articles. His two most significant works to date are The Custody and Courtship of Experience: Western Education in Philosophical Perspective (1995), and The New Significance of Learning: Imagination's Heartwork (Autumn 2009). He has served on many editorial boards and is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Education.

Professor Gregor McLennan, University of Bristol

Title of Paper: 'Timorous Taylor, Symptom of the Postsecular'
Abstract: Hailed as a masterwork and quickly positioned as the centrepiece of resistance to hard-nosed secularism, Taylor's 'A Secular Age' turns out to be a curiously timid, tension-ridden overview of modern life and thought in the West. Some of the key arguments are strikingly thin, whether in relation to his normative benchmark of experiential 'fullness', his portrayal of 200 years of 'moral malaise', or his stilted engagement with contrary views. That said, Taylor's project remains useful viewed as part of a wider spectrum of postsecular thinking, where the 'post' signals not (necessarily) 'anti-' or 'after-' secular intellectual culture and politics, but rather 'infra-' secularity.
Biography: Professor Gregor McLennan holds the Established Chair of Sociology in the department, and was Head of Department, 2000-2003. Following postgraduate work at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham, he worked in the Open University 1979-1991. Prior to taking up his position at Bristol, Prof. McLennan was Established Chair of Sociology and Head of Department at Massey University, New Zealand, 1991-7. He is the author of Marxism and the Methodologies of History (1981), Marxism, Pluralism and Beyond (1989), Pluralism (1995), and Sociological Cultural Studies: Reflexivity and Positivity in the Human Sciences (2006), as well as being co-editor of five collective volumes, including The Idea of the Modern State (1984). The third edition of his co-authored sociology textbook for New Zealand students, Exploring Society, will appear in 2009. Professor McLennan is an Academician of the Social Sciences.

Professor John Milbank, Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Title of Paper: 'Against Human Rights'
Biography: Professor John Milbank is Professor in Religion, Politics and Ethics and the Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. He has previously taught at the Universities of Lancaster, Cambridge and Virginia. He is the author of several books of which the most well-known is Theology and Social Theory and the most recent Being Reconciled: Ontology and Pardon. He is one of the editors of the Radical Orthodoxy collection of essays which occasioned much debate. In general he has endeavoured in his work to resist the idea that secular norms of understanding should set the agenda for theology and has tried to promote the sense that Christianity offers a rich and viable account of the whole of reality. At the same time he tends to insist that Christianity is itself eclectic and fuses many traditions - particularly that of biblical narrative with that of Greek philosophy. In style his theology is eclectic, interdisciplinary and essayistic - though it aims to be systematic in a somewhat ad hoc fashion. So far he has produced two books in the areas of Christian doctrine and ethics - though both have a strong philosophical component. In addition he has sustained interests in developing a political and social theology - critical of the liberationist current as insufficiently theological, while retaining a left-leaning perspective. Currently he is pursuing a long-term project concerning the topic of 'gift' which involves all the above-mentioned concerns. In the long-term he hopes to develop a fully-fledged 'Trinitarian ontology'.

Dr. Fáinche Ryan, Mater Dei Institute

Title of Paper: 'Code fixation', Dilemmas and the Missing Virtue: Practical Wisdom in a Secular Age
Biography: Dr Fáinche Ryan studied undergraduate theology at Kimmage Mission Institute, Dublin and then pursued a Masters (research) at the Milltown Institute, Dublin. Following a number of years teaching theology she went to Rome where in 2006 she was awarded her doctorate in Systematic Theology at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). In 2006 she was appointed Director of Studies and at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge. Presently she is lecturing at the Mater Dei Institute, Dublin. Her publications include Formation in Holiness. Thomas Aquinas on Sacra Scriptura (Peeters, 2007) and an essay entitled "Aquinas and Darwin" in Darwin and Catholicism: The Past and Present Dynamics of a Cultural Encounter, edited by Louis Caruana (Forthcoming: 1st Oct. 2009). Her current research interests include the theology of St Thomas Aquinas, and the Eucharist.