Benedictine communities came to be founded on the principle of radical hospitality – the monks would welcome any visitor as they would welcome Christ Himself. It didn’t mean that they would adopt the ideas of whoever came along, but they would listen to them all, think about them in a rigorous fashion, and keep anything that was helpful.

The people generally went along without a peep. With a shrug and a laconic “Whatever” they lapsed into being “nones” – people with no specific religious identity. Is this us?