Conversation #2: The challenges to religion posed by rationalism, atheism and science

Catholica and the Blue Mountain Education & Research Trust present a series of extended cyber conversations with four leading writers on spirituality, Rev Dr Eugene Stockton, Mr Peter B. Todd, Professor David Tacey and Dr Kevin Treston examining the question why there has been such a dramatic fall-off in religious participation across the Western world in the last half century. The conversations are moderated by Australia's leading religious affairs journalist and presenter, Stephen Crittenden.

This second conversation is focused on what the authors discern is one of the major challenges facing the institutional Church and traditional expressions of religion coming from the sciences and the neo-atheists and rationalists.

The first three conversations concentrate discussion on explanations for the fall-off in participation. The final three examine positive ways in which the spiritual landscape in Western society seems to be changing. Have we entered, as author Karen Armstrong suggests, a Third Great Axial Age of Religion and the entire way we humans relate to the spiritual side of life and God is changing dramatically?

Further discussion can be found on the Catholica forum at: