become—and he never would come out and say 
this—does it become closer to conventional 
traditional values. 


Q:  In terms of traditional values, it’s often noted 
that McLuhan was a Catholic. Did his Roman 
Catholicism influence his work?

A:  He was very much what we might call a 
compartmentalized Roman Catholic, and that, like 
a ship is designed with large bulkheads to prevent 
water from seeping through one compartment to 
another when the ship is torpedoed. McLuhan had