June 2008 The Victory of Reason. How Christianity Led to freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success by Rodney Stark. This was an excellent book that leads the reader through a clearly reasoned argument that the key elements for the success of Western Europe economically and intelectually came as a result of disciplines honed in the so-called "Dark Ages" in the Catholic Church. The author contrasts the societies on China and the Islamic World, in which the building blocks were present for capitalism, with Catholic Europe showing that the freedom and theological traditions encouraged by Christianity were the prerequisites needed for economic success. Rodney Stark is a Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at Baylor University. His website (http://www.rodneystark.com/) which lists his pubilcations and biography.