But what happened was as we now look back at those proceedings, an inevitable occurrence, a foregone conclusion.

The pulpits were only representative of the religion of the pews, and the pews were occupied by the same sort of humanity that toil and spin and haggle over dollars and cents six out of every seven days.

They have their selfish and invested interests, fixed social notions, relationships, and prejudices, which an episode like Sunday, churches, and sermons do not seriously affect.

Indeed, Sunday, churches, and sermons constitute an institution of modern civilization highly conservative of invested interests, fixed social notions, relationships, and prejudices.

Who advances a new idea, a reformatory movement, disturbs the _status quo_, stirs up the human bees in that great hive called society, and that lesser one called the church, and he must needs expect to have the swarm about his head.
This was precisely what happened in the case of the anti-slavery movement.