Bertrand Russell, leading British philosopher of the 20th century, famously said, “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”

Instead of praising the British tradition of rational skepticism and resistance to fanaticism, Niall Ferguson, after outlining the “recent” decline of Christianity in West Europe (and Britain in particular), outrageously seeks to blame secular humanists, not just for allegedly rendering themselves “easy targets” for terrorism, but also for supposedly empowering the fanatics who would do them harm (“Britain’s loss of faith empowers fanatics,” Ideas, Aug. 3).

This article is yet another bigoted diatribe against any and all non-Christian beliefs. Characterizing atheists and non-Christians as “heathens,” as Ferguson does twice in this article, is nothing more than a slur, deserving no response.

Writing of what Ferguson terms “our God and our beliefs” is both arrogant and insulting. So is the characterization of non-Christian rituals as “mumbo-jumbo” (the clear assumption being that Christian rituals, such as prayers, baptisms, or perhaps exorcisms, are not “mumbo-jumbo”).

His assertion that “de-Christianization has created” a “moral vacuum” is unsubstantiated and absurd. Christianity does not have a monopoly on morality, and never has.

Ferguson’s stated inability to grasp “where else such a thing” as an ethical framework “is available in Modern Europe” speaks only of his own biased limitations, and says nothing of the literally countless ethical guidelines (religious, philosophical, or otherwise) that one might reasonably prefer to Christian doctrine.

To quote Russell again, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”

In seeking to blame the latter group, Ferguson merely shows us that he belongs to one, or likely both, of the former.

Ryan McCourt, Edmonton