In their fascinating and brilliant book entitled The Age of Voltaire, published in 1965 before the cultural revolution of the late 1960s, historians Will and Ariel Durant wrote in their preface: “Blame for the length of this volume must rest with authors fascinated to exuberant prolixity by the central theme - that pervasive and continuing conflict between religion and science-plus-philosophy which became a living drama in the 18th century, and which has resulted in the secret secularism of our times.

“How did it come about that a major part of the educated classes in Europe and America has lost faith in the theology that for 15 centuries gave supernatural sanctions and supports to the precarious and uncongenial moral code upon which Western civilization has been based?”

The Durants would be amazed, if they were alive today, to see that secularism is no longer “secret” but has prevailed in the Western world, including Catholic Spain and Catholic Malta, where a majority of the population has voted “yes” for divorce!

John Guillaumier

ST JULIAN’S