Itisfurthertobenoticedthatthenon-conformingsectsandvariantswhosepriesthoodishereunderdiscussion，varyamongthemselvesinthedegreeoftheirconformitytotheidealschemeofsacerdotallife。Inageneralwayitwillbefoundthatthedivergenceinthisrespectiswidestinthecaseoftherelativelyyoungdenominations，andespeciallyinthecaseofsuchofthenewerdenominationsashavechieflyalowermiddle-classconstituency。Theycommonlyshowalargeadmixtureofhumanitarian，philanthropic，orothermotiveswhichcannotbeclassedasexpressionsofthedevotionalattitude；suchasthedesireoflearningorofconviviality，whichenterlargelyintotheeffectiveinterestshownbymembersoftheseorganizations。
Thenon-conformingorsectarianmovementshavecommonlyproceededfromamixtureofmotives，someofwhichareatvariancewiththatsenseofstatusonwhichthepriestlyofficerests。
Sometimes，indeed，themotivehasbeeningoodpartarevulsionagainstasystemofstatus。Wherethisisthecasetheinstitutionofthepriesthoodhasbrokendowninthetransition，atleastpartially。Thespokesmanofsuchanorganizationisattheoutsetaservantandrepresentativeoftheorganization，ratherthanamemberofaspecialpriestlyclassandthespokesmanofadivinemaster。Anditisonlybyaprocessofgradualspecializationthat，insucceedinggenerations，thisspokesmanregainsthepositionofpriest，withafullinvestitureofsacerdotalauthority，andwithitsaccompanyingaustere，archaicandvicariousmanneroflife。Thelikeistrueofthebreakdownandredintegrationofdevoutritualaftersucharevulsion。Thepriestlyoffice，theschemeofsacerdotallife，andthescheduleofdevoutobservancesarerehabilitatedonlygradually，insensibly，andwithmoreorlessvariationindetails，asapersistenthumansenseofdevoutproprietyreassertsitsprimacyinquestionstouchingtheinterestinthepreternatural——anditmaybeadded，astheorganizationincreasesinwealth，andsoacquiresmoreofthepointofviewandthehabitsofthoughtofaleisureclass。
Beyondthepriestlyclass，andrangedinanascendinghierarchy，ordinarilycomesasuperhumanvicariousleisureclassofsaints，angels，etc——ortheirequivalentsintheethniccults。Theseriseingrade，oneaboveanother，accordingtoelaboratesystemofstatus。Theprincipleofstatusrunsthroughtheentirehierarchicalsystem，bothvisibleandinvisible。Thegoodfameoftheseseveralordersofthesupernaturalhierarchyalsocommonlyrequiresacertaintributeofvicariousconsumptionandvicariousleisure。Inmanycasestheyaccordinglyhavedevotedtotheirservicesub-ordersofattendantsordependentswhoperformavicariousleisureforthem，aftermuchthesamefashionaswasfoundinanearlierchaptertobetrueofthedependentleisureclassunderthepatriarchalsystem。
Itmaynotappearwithoutreflectionhowthesedevoutobservancesandthepeculiarityoftemperamentwhichtheyimply，ortheconsumptionofgoodsandserviceswhichiscomprisedinthecult，standrelatedtotheleisureclassofamoderncommunity，ortotheeconomicmotivesofwhichthatclassistheexponentinthemodernschemeoflifetothisendasummaryreviewofcertainfactsbearingonthisrelationwillbeuseful。
Itappearsfromanearlierpassageinthisdiscussionthatforthepurposeofthecollectivelifeoftoday，especiallysofarasconcernstheindustrialefficiencyofthemoderncommunity，thecharacteristictraitsofthedevouttemperamentareahindranceratherthanahelp。Itshouldaccordinglybefoundthatthemodernindustriallifetendsselectivelytoeliminatethesetraitsofhumannaturefromthespiritualconstitutionoftheclassesthatareimmediatelyengagedintheindustrialprocess。Itshouldholdtrue，approximately，thatdevoutnessisdecliningortendingtoobsolescenceamongthemembersofwhatmaybecalledtheeffectiveindustrialcommunity。
Atthesametimeitshouldappearthatthisaptitudeorhabitsurvivesinappreciablygreatervigoramongthoseclasseswhichdonotimmediatelyorprimarilyenterintothecommunity’slifeprocessasanindustrialfactor。
Ithasalreadybeenpointedoutthattheselatterclasses，whichliveby，ratherthanin，theindustrialprocess，areroughlycomprisedundertwocategories(1)theleisureclassproper，whichisshieldedfromthestressoftheeconomicsituation；and(2)theindigentclasses，includingthelower-classdelinquents，whichareundulyexposedtothestress。
Inthecaseoftheformerclassanarchaichabitofmindpersistsbecausenoeffectualeconomicpressureconstrainsthisclasstoanadaptationofitshabitsofthoughttothechangingsituation；
whileinthelatterthereasonforafailuretoadjusttheirhabitsofthoughttothealteredrequirementsofindustrialefficiencyisinnutrition，absenceofsuchsurplusofenergyasisneededinordertomaketheadjustmentwithfacility，togetherwithalackofopportunitytoacquireandbecomehabituatedtothemodernpointofview。Thetrendoftheselectiveprocessrunsinmuchthesamedirectioninbothcases。
Fromthepointofviewwhichthemodernindustriallifeinculcates，phenomenaarehabituallysubsumedunderthequantitativerelationofmechanicalsequence。Theindigentclassesnotonlyfallshortofthemodicumofleisurenecessaryinordertoappropriateandassimilatethemorerecentgeneralizationsofsciencewhichthispointofviewinvolves，buttheyalsoordinarilystandinsucharelationofpersonaldependenceorsubserviencetotheirpecuniarysuperiorsasmateriallytoretardtheiremancipationfromhabitsofthoughtpropertotheregimeofstatus。Theresultisthattheseclassesinsomemeasureretainthatgeneralhabitofmindthechiefexpressionofwhichisastrongsenseofpersonalstatus，andofwhichdevoutnessisonefeature。
IntheoldercommunitiesoftheEuropeanculture，thehereditaryleisureclass，togetherwiththemassoftheindigentpopulation，aregiventodevoutobservancesinanappreciablyhigherdegreethantheaverageoftheindustriousmiddleclass，whereveraconsiderableclassofthelattercharacterexists。Butinsomeofthesecountries，thetwocategoriesofconservativehumanitynamedabovecomprisevirtuallythewholepopulation。
Wherethesetwoclassesgreatlypreponderate，theirbentshapespopularsentimenttosuchanextentastobeardownanypossibledivergenttendencyintheinconsiderablemiddleclass，andimposesadevoutattitudeuponthewholecommunity。
Thismust，ofcourse，notbeconstruedtosaythatsuchcommunitiesorsuchclassesasareexceptionallypronetodevoutobservancestendtoconforminanyexceptionaldegreetothespecificationsofanycodeofmoralsthatwemaybeaccustomedtoassociatewiththisorthatconfessionoffaith。AlargemeasureofthedevouthabitofmindneednotcarrywithitastrictobservanceoftheinjunctionsoftheDecalogueorofthecommonlaw。Indeed，itisbecomingsomewhatofacommonplacewithobserversofcriminallifeinEuropeancommunitiesthatthecriminalanddissoluteclassesare，ifanything，rathermoredevout，andmorenaivelyso，thantheaverageofthepopulation。
Itisamongthosewhoconstitutethepecuniarymiddleclassandthebodyoflaw-abidingcitizensthatarelativeexemptionfromthedevotionalattitudeistobelookedfor。Thosewhobestappreciatethemeritsofthehighercreedsandobservanceswouldobjecttoallthisandsaythatthedevoutnessofthelow-classdelinquentsisaspurious，oratthebestasuperstitiousdevoutness；andthepointisnodoubtwelltakenandgoesdirectlyandcogentlytothepurposeintended。Butforthepurposeofthepresentinquirytheseextra-economic，extra-psychologicaldistinctionsmustperforcebeneglected，howevervalidandhoweverdecisivetheymaybeforthepurposeforwhichtheyaremade。
Whathasactuallytakenplacewithregardtoclassemancipationfromthehabitofdevoutobservanceisshownbythelatter-daycomplaintoftheclergy——thatthechurchesarelosingthesympathyoftheartisanclasses，andarelosingtheirholduponthem。Atthesametimeitiscurrentlybelievedthatthemiddleclass，commonlysocalled，isalsofallingawayinthecordialityofitssupportofthechurch，especiallysofarasregardstheadultmaleportionofthatclass。Thesearecurrentlyrecognizedphenomena，anditmightseemthatasimplereferencetothesefactsshouldsufficientlysubstantiatethegeneralpositionoutlined。Suchanappealtothegeneralphenomenaofpopularchurchattendanceandchurchmembershipmaybesufficientlyconvincingforthepropositionhereadvanced。Butitwillstillbetothepurposetotraceinsomedetailthecourseofeventsandtheparticularforceswhichhavewroughtthischangeinthespiritualattitudeofthemoreadvancedindustrialcommunitiesoftoday。Itwillservetoillustratethemannerinwhicheconomiccausesworktowardsasecularizationofmen’shabitsofthought。InthisrespecttheAmericancommunityshouldaffordanexceptionallyconvincingillustration，sincethiscommunityhasbeentheleasttrammelledbyexternalcircumstancesofanyequallyimportantindustrialaggregate。
Aftermakingdueallowanceforexceptionsandsporadicdeparturesfromthenormal，thesituationhereatthepresenttimemaybesummarizedquitebriefly。Asageneralruletheclassesthatarelowineconomicefficiency，orinintelligence，orboth，arepeculiarlydevout——as，forinstance，theNegropopulationoftheSouth，muchofthelower-classforeignpopulation，muchoftheruralpopulation，especiallyinthosesectionswhicharebackwardineducation，inthestageofdevelopmentoftheirindustry，orinrespectoftheirindustrialcontactwiththerestofthecommunity。Soalsosuchfragmentsaswepossessofaspecializedorhereditaryindigentclass，orofasegregatedcriminalordissoluteclass；althoughamongtheselatterthedevouthabitofmindisapttotaketheformofanaiveanimisticbeliefinluckandintheefficacyofshamanisticpracticesperhapsmorefrequentlythanittakestheformofaformaladherencetoanyaccreditedcreed。Theartisanclass，ontheotherhand，isnotoriouslyfallingawayfromtheaccreditedanthropomorphiccreedsandfromalldevoutobservances。Thisclassisinanespecialdegreeexposedtothecharacteristicintellectualandspiritualstressofmodernorganizedindustry，whichrequiresaconstantrecognitionoftheundisguisedphenomenaofimpersonal，matter-of-factsequenceandanunreservedconformitytothelawofcauseandeffect。Thisclassisatthesametimenotunderfednorover-workedtosuchanextentastoleavenomarginofenergyfortheworkofadaptation。
ThecaseofthelowerordoubtfulleisureclassinAmerica——themiddleclasscommonlysocalled——issomewhatpeculiar。
ItdiffersinrespectofitsdevotionallifefromitsEuropeancounterpart，butitdiffersindegreeandmethodratherthaninsubstance。Thechurchesstillhavethepecuniarysupportofthisclass；althoughthecreedstowhichtheclassadhereswiththegreatestfacilityarerelativelypoorinanthropomorphiccontent。
Atthesametimetheeffectivemiddle-classcongregationtends，inmanycases，moreorlessremotelyperhaps，tobecomeacongregationofwomenandminors。Thereisanappreciablelackofdevotionalfervoramongtheadultmalesofthemiddleclass，althoughtoaconsiderableextenttheresurvivesamongthemacertaincomplacent，reputableassenttotheoutlinesoftheaccreditedcreedunderwhichtheywereborn。Theireverydaylifeiscarriedoninamoreorlessclosecontactwiththeindustrialprocess。
Thispeculiarsexualdifferentiation，whichtendstodelegatedevoutobservancestothewomenandtheirchildren，isdue，atleastinpart，tothefactthatthemiddle-classwomenareingreatmeasurea(vicarious)leisureclass。Thesameistrueinalessdegreeofthewomenofthelower，artisanclasses。
Theyliveunderaregimeofstatushandeddownfromanearlierstageofindustrialdevelopment，andtherebytheypreserveaframeofmindandhabitsofthoughtwhichinclinethemtoanarchaicviewofthingsgenerally。Atthesametimetheystandinnosuchdirectorganicrelationtotheindustrialprocessatlargeaswouldtendstronglytobreakdownthosehabitsofthoughtwhich，forthemodernindustrialpurpose，areobsolete。
Thatistosay，thepeculiardevoutnessofwomenisaparticularexpressionofthatconservatismwhichthewomenofcivilizedcommunitiesowe，ingreatmeasure，totheireconomicposition。
Forthemodernmanthepatriarchalrelationofstatusisbynomeansthedominantfeatureoflife；butforthewomenontheotherhand，andfortheuppermiddle-classwomenespecially，confinedastheyarebyprescriptionandbyeconomiccircumstancestotheir“domesticsphere，“thisrelationisthemostrealandmostformativefactoroflife。Henceahabitofmindfavorabletodevoutobservancesandtotheinterpretationofthefactsoflifegenerallyintermsofpersonalstatus。Thelogic，andthelogicalprocesses，ofhereverydaydomesticlifearecarriedoverintotherealmofthesupernatural，andthewomanfindsherselfathomeandcontentinarangeofideaswhichtothemanareingreatmeasurealienandimbecile。
