Hopelessness has a cure but it’s not a popular one. That cure is religion and the civil institutions that give it sanction.

To say so out loud as been taboo in in the public sector for years, but that didn’t stop Attorney General William Barr from addressing what he sees as a dissolution of society’s “traditional moral order” during an event at the University of Notre Dame Law School last week.

“The campaign to destroy the traditional moral order has coincided, and I believe has brought with it, immense suffering and misery. And yet the forces of secularism, ignoring these tragic results, press on with even greater militancy,” Barr, a Catholic, said.

The result has been a “moral upheaval,” he said, all in the name of “progress.”

“But where is the progress?” Barr asked. “Those who defy the [secular] creed risk a figurative burning at the stake: social, educational, and professional ostracism and exclusion waged through lawsuits and savage social media campaigns.”

Today’s progressives are indeed militant secularists. Look no further than the plight of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who has been dragged into court three times for choosing not to provide wedding cakes to LGBT couples out of respect for his religious beliefs. Phillips took his case to the Supreme Court and won, but that hasn’t stopped the cultural Left’s assault on his family or business.

Let’s not forget the Minnesota videographers who recently won their case against the state for similar reasons. The state cannot dictate which religious tenets a person can and cannot follow, the court ruled. In response, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison vowed to fight the ruling and, evidently, the First Amendment rights on which it was based.

These people don’t stop and they won’t until they’ve reached their end goal: the destruction of religion and its values. And in its place they hope to create a religion of their own, one of political correctness, inclusion, and diversity. In theory, this new religion sounds great: Who wouldn’t want a society that accepts and advocates for the success of every single person? Simple: anyone who values freedom. Because in practice, this religion displaces and ostracizes anyone who dares to disagree with progressive dogma. Just ask Jack Phillips how well this religion of progress treated him.

As the progressives advance, moral upheaval ensues and society suffers as a result. What these demagogues seem not to understand is how vital a role religion plays. It’s a stabilizing, invigorating force that offers community and purpose. No matter how hard it tries, the government cannot fill its shoes. Morality is an “indispensable support” that not only leads to “political prosperity” but serves as a “great pillar of human happiness,” George Washington said.

Look around us: Why did Donald Trump, a narcissistic adulterer, win the presidency? Why are our politicians choosing corruption over principle? Why are opioid-related deaths skyrocketing in the Midwest? Why is fatherlessness plaguing America’s families? Policy has undoubtedly affected and shaped these societal woes. But policy has only exaggerated problems that existed long before the progressives came to power. Could it be that these problems have a deeper cause, as Barr suggests?

Instead of turning to their communities, churches, and faiths, Americans are turning to the government for answers, though it has none to give. And the militant secularists are to blame.