Imagine, if you will, a society that by and large embraces a linear view of history (rather than a cyclical one), that widely embraces the premise of universal citizenship, and espouses the intrinsic equlity of all persons regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, physical or mental fitness etc. etc. -- and then imagine that the people living in this same society are to an unprecentedent degree atheistic or agnostic. Imagine that not only are there no ties of importance between the stte and the priesthood-- there are explicit laws preventing such ties. Finally, imagine that this society combines in immense dedication to respecting human freedoms with a general tendency to unprecedented scope of government involvement in their lives (which must surely seem strange to virtually everyone from virtually all other periods, because throughout history, unusually expansive state power has been the foremost danger to human freedom).
This is, without a doubt, one of the most unusual societies from all of human history. Of the vast scores of humans not born into the time and place that produced this culture, virtually every single one would consider it -- if it were described to them by a time traveller -- to be both utterly alien and completely unbelievable. The man describing this world is clearly insane, or belongs to one of the weirder religious cults...