Page:What We Want.djvu/41

 opposing from century to century the desires which had been formed for its unity and independence, withdrew into a self-centred silence and inaction the moment that the People in its greatness and freedom began to advance along the path of economic reform. So the populace regarded the priest as the enemy of its class, and, as it failed to distinguish between his religious and his political character, ended by treating even religion and Christianity themselves as enemies. The customary demagogue did not fail to turn this confusion to evil account, and very soon religion and its ministers were placed on a level with those oppressors of the people, those systematic opponents of every movement of popular progress—the Conservatives. And so the masses became dechristianized, nonreligious, immoral.

But the causes of this crisis were not only political and social. Reasons of another order have concurred to render