I am a lifelong Catholic and I still belong to that body. I attend church regularly . That much said I have noted something about the history of the Church. The Modern Church today is strongest in nations where it has been oppressed and weakest where it had been most empowered.

Case in point, in my native country of the US, Protestant Churches in the 19th century have become most dominant. Nativist orginizations have tried to outlaw the church, seeing it as an orginization of foreigners.

In Ireland, the church had championed the native peasant population and fought against the british domination. Until the early 19th century, Irish Catholics were virtual slaves who could not own property, nor had voting rights. The church provided protection for the people until the independence of 1921.

In Poland, the Polish church fostered nationalism after the division of that nation by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Later, during Nazi and later Communist occupation the church actively resisted the oppression.

In Italy, the Church gave support to the Nationalist movement during the struggle for unification in the 1840s.

Now you may also note that in nations where the church was very powerful, such as Spain and France, the Church had little popular support and popular movements targeted the Church.