On Anti-Catholic Myths

"Dr. Rodney Stark has written nearly 40 books on a wide range of topics, [including] a number of recent books on the history of Christianity, monotheism, Christianity in China, and the roots of modernity. After beginning as a newspaper reporter and spending time in the Army, Stark received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he held appointments as a research sociologist at the Survey Research Center and at the Center for the Study of Law and Society. He later was Professor of Sociology and of Comparative Religion at the University of Washington; he has been at Baylor University since 2004. Stark is past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, and he has won a number of national and international awards for distinguished scholarship. Raised as a Lutheran, he has identified himself as an agnostic but has, more recently, called himself an 'independent Christian'.

"His most recent book is Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History (Templeton Press, 2016), which addresses ten prevalent myths about Church history. Dr. Stark recently responded by e-mail to some questions from Carl E. Olson, editor of Catholic World Report."

To access Mr. Olson's report on this interview (including myths related to "sins of anti-Semitism" and the relationship between the mythology of the "Dark Ages" and the myth of "secular Enlightenment"), please visit:

Catholic World Report: Why is this non-Catholic scholar debunking "centuries of anti-Catholic history"? (7 MAY 16)