Since Steyn is a secular rationalist himself (who may amuse himself with shouting boo! at other, more consistent secular rationalist), it is not surprising that he does not endeavor to refute the "in the long run were all dead" cynicism of the Left.

Do the math:

http://www.nysun.com/article/22671

"There are about 60 million inhabitants in continental France, plus 2 million citizens in the overseas territories (essentially the French West Indies and La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean). About 20 million, most of them white and Christian, are over 50.

Out of the remaining 40 million or so, 10 million or so belong to the ethnic minorities: Muslim North Africans, Muslim Turks or Near Easterners, Muslim Black Africans, Christian West Indian, African or Reunionese blacks. When one regards to the youngest age brackets, the proportion is even larger. It is estimated that 35% of all French inhabitants under 20, and 50% of all inhabitants in the major urban centers, belong to the ethnic minorities. Islam alone may claim respectively 30% and 45%."

C'mon Paul, Steyn a secular rationalist? This is from a Western Standard article currently on his web site:

The PQ's leader-to-be--barring any last-minute shock revelations that he likes to spend his evenings quietly at home--is a prime example of what the London School of Economics' Kenneth Minogue called "The New Epicureans." Joseph Conrad wrote of "the shadow line" we all cross from the insouciance of youth to the solidity of responsibilities--marriage, family, careers. But in the contemporary world that line is all but erased: fewer of us marry or have children, and in common-law abortion-addicted Quebec it's fewer than most other jurisdictions; as for careers, in Quebec that involves working for the state or an entity supported by government largesse. Whatever Montreal may once have been famous for, its downtown today is built on three industries--coffee, sex and government.

In a world where "the shadow line" need never be crossed, the point of life is to optimize the celebration of oneself, however one cares to define it. As Professor Minogue writes, "The drift of the contemporary world thus seems to be the removal of necessity from life in order that we can everywhere indulge our 'right to choose.' A woman can be a soldier, a man can be a woman, sex can be a costless indulgence, the old can indulge the appetites of the young, and so on. Society comes increasingly to resemble a fantasy playground." ...

"In the sixties, Quebec separatists made the strategically disastrous decision to reject both the Queen and the Pope, the Crown and the cross--and, because they disdained the latter, they'll never be rid of the former." Young Quebecers trend separatist, but there aren't enough of them. Had the province's Catholics maintained traditional birthrates, they would have won their country. Instead, the glorious république slips a little more beyond their grasp within each census.

Secular rationalist indeed.

He describes the deathwish of secular rationalism very well, and ought to be cheered for that, but he rarely if ever stands against it without that cute meterosexual irony he so readily cultivates.

I like Mary Steyn, but he is enervated.

OJ
Not just Europe's.

Paul:

Just because he isn't Catholic doesn't make him secular.

Paul Cella:

Steyn regularly attends a Protestant church of rather conservative inclinations. Sorry but I don't remember which branch it is precisely -- I'm Catholic, they all look alike to me. ;-)

OJ:

I too thought it pretty amazing that Steyn missed the obvious import of that sign-off line. Not up to his usual standards -- I do hope he's feeling well.