It might be said that the birth of secular humanism, 'scientism' or 'rationalism', and the materialist and reductionist philosophies that have come to so dominate modernity, first stepped into the foreground of the western world most profoundly as a result of the French Revolution - and the several similar revolutions it helped spark and inspire. The ancient and traditional conception of hierarchy, in which God represents the 'capstone', with Kings and Chieftains and Holy Men and ruling Nobility to act as his stewards and right hand to establish right order in the material world, seemed to be the foremost target of the leading players responsible for the events of these years. Kill off the prevailing conception of God, kill off the earthly Father and Mother of a nation, and you're left with lawyers, sophists, and money men.. and the entire world eventually pays the price for this disastrous trade.