- Stone Age
- Bronze Age
- Iron Age
- Hunter-gatherers
- Early agriculture
- Kings and empires
- City-states
- Dark Ages
- Renaissance
- Enlightenment
- Colonialism
- Industrial Revolution
- Decolonialism
- Space travel
- Human rights
- Black equality
- Female equality
- Gay equality
- Decline of warfare
- Information Age
When I was born in 1932 (in an Appalachian farm town with no electricity or paved streets), the world had 2 billion people; now this is approaching 8 billion. Civilization has changed greatly in my lifetime, and the pace of change seems to accelerate. It’s fun to guess what’s next.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I predict that the Secular Age is taking shape under our noses.
FFRF Member James A. Haught, syndicated by PeaceVoice, was the longtime editor at the Charleston Gazette and has been the editor emeritus since 2015. He has won two dozen national newswriting awards and is author of 12 books and 150 magazine essays. He also is a senior editor of Free Inquiry magazine and was writer-in-residence for the United Coalition of Reason.
This article is adapted from a piece that originally appeared at Daylight Atheism on March 29, 2021.
