The author is using the personality of Milan Rastislav Štefánik to show how secular ideas permeated into Slovak society at the turn of 19th century. Štefánik came from a family of an evangelic priest and until his university studies in Prague, he was a devout believer. However, in the Czech metropolis, he met new modern views on faith and religion which were in stark contrast with his traditional perception of the role of the Church and creed. An important turning point stemmed from this and he decided to devote himself to science and astronomy.
