Modernity, and particularly the fruits of the French Revolution, had led to a faith in the supremacy of human reason, and the resulting critical philosophies were pushing religion off the public stage. The effectiveness of science and technology was having the same effect. The materialistic and critical voices of Marx, Darwin, and Freud made religion seem less and less important. Modernity was in full bloom, and religion had been relegated to the spiritual realm and was expected to eventually go away altogether.
