This book defines the concept and practices of literacy. Examining the ways in which the spread of literacy and education have caused culture wars in pluralist societies since the 16th century, the author argues that science, and more broadly evidence-based inductive arguments, offer the only reliable source information and the only peaceful solution to cultural conflict in the 21st century. With a focus on the multifaceted practice of literacy-as-communication, the book calls for a new literacy that incorporates reading and writing with advanced cognitive and epistemological skills.