He alone is responsible for any deficiency in the discharge of his office, as he is alone entitled to all the credit due to his exertions. He always acts as principal, and is therefore more anxious, and will make greater efforts to obtain popularity, than one who serves for wages (Powell 1967).
This should be no surprise to those who have seen populations stick to their religions despite sanctions from the state, such as in Poland. At the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Polish participation in Catholic ceremonies was quite high; after independence and the establishment of an official relationship with the state, participation went down considerably (Eberts 1998). A similar phenomenon occurred in Germany and Austria as continued state sponsorship. As demonstrated by the above traveler to America, the result was that the Church grew fat and lazy, and saw a steady decline in attendance at churches throughout the 19th century.
It is ironic that one of the causes of increasing secularization of European society during the 19th century were the churches themselves. As observed above, long state sponsorship reduces the participation of the populace. Once the rulers were separated from their religious authority, the importance of religious observance therefore declined.
Increasing Urbanization in Europe and its Effect on Secularization
Urbanization went hand-in-hand with industrialization in Europe of the 19th century. The influence of the village, where everyone knew everyone else's business and the parish priest or pastor was always nearby, led to a natural tendency to stick closer to religious observance. Cities were much less focused on individual behavior; it was therefore much easier to become 'lost' in the city.
Secularization was therefore a situation which did not take place uniformly throughout Europe in this period. Those who moved to the cities and engaged in the industrialization of society became more secular, while those who remained behind in the agricultural villages retained their religious beliefs (Lilla 2006). One way to view the increasing secularization of Europe, therefore, is to look at the change in the ratio of city- versus country-dwellers. In 1800, only 7% of the population of Europe lived in a city (Schrover 2007). By the end of the 1800's, the cities far outpaced the countryside. There were three primary reasons for this:
substantial out-migration from the countryside, as agricultural productivity required fewer laborers on the land, and the cities attracted more industrial workers.
A higher birth rate in the cities than in the countryside (Schrover 2007)
Out-migration from agricultural areas to other parts of Europe, the United States and Latin America due to labor surpluses in the countryside of Germany, England and (to a lesser extent) France.
Other Factors Increasing Secularization
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