The bad old days

Richard Lucas (Letters, 10 February) is once again describing a mythical golden age 60 years ago when “Christian marriage” ensured the “bedrock of a healthy society”.

Unlike him, I am old enough to remember what it was really like 60 years ago, and my subsequent research into church members’ experience confirms what was the norm then. 
Divorced people, even if that divorce had not been their choice, were frequently ostracised as “sinners”, spousal abuse was tolerated and rarely the subject of police attention, and those unfortunate enough to be born with a non-heterosexual orientation could find themselves subject to blackmail or even prison.

If he thinks the 1950s were the “good old days” for sexual mores, he should think again – and maybe talk to people who were actually there.

Dr Mary Brown

Dalvenie Road

Banchory, Aberdeenshire