I was afraid of a united Church; it makes a mighty power, the mightiest conceivable, and then when it by and by gets into selfish hands, as it is always bound to do, it means death to human liberty and paralysis to human thought.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]

Novel (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Part 3 “The Tale of the Lost Land,” ch. 10 “Beginnings of Civilization”
    (Source)

On the secular advantages of encouraging religious diversity in Arthur's kingdom.