India, Aug. 16 -- Secularism is now the bedrock of Hindu scepticism about their entire intellectual and spiritual heritage and the widespread disdain for their own ancient traditional rituals.

When one thinks of the advance of European secularism, we remember the great philosophers and scientists who disputed scriptural certainties to assert the supremacy of reason and scientific empirical knowledge. However, secular ideology was preceded by the supremacy of a Christian worldview for almost 1,600 years. Christianity had become the undisputed state ideology of Rome by the third quarter of the 4th century AD. The recent work of historian Professor Peter Heather of Cambridge University, affirms the forceful promotion of Christianity as the ...