we have ended up in a situation where the government is regulating society in accordance with one religious faction that pretends it's not one.

Absolutely agree. The whole purpose of the cathedral is to function as a secular religion, thus flaunting the separation of church and state, molding public opinion and morality. The consent it manufactures by doing this can then be used as political power, since the republic can be levered by public opinion. Add to that the long march the socialists have been making through the institutions, and you reach the present day.