I wonder what a liberal Roman Catholics lurking on this site must think of all these posts.

[BainsBane]

53. really?

Do you have evidence to demonstrate that? I've read a number of Inquisition documents and have never seen any reference to atheism by name or practice. I don't believe the concept emerged until the Enlightenment. I welcome correction if you have evidence to the contrary, but I think it's wrong to assume. Prior to the Enlightenment, people believed all knowledge came through divine revelation. The entire concept of a separation between the sacred and the mundane only dates from that period.

A colleague of mine runs a program in religious studies at a university. She says the entire discipline of religious studies dates from the post-Enlightenment period. The reason being is that before then, there was no perceived difference in what was religious and what was not. All belonged to God in pre-Enlightenment mentalité.

As I said, I welcome information to the contrary.