Prussian Rule
The unification of Germany under Prussian dominion (1871) intensified interdenominational conflict. While Protestantism was associated with German nationalism and imperialism, Catholicism (representing one-third of the German population) was considered retrograde and disloyal by the political and intellectual elite. The Kulturkampf lead by Bismarck against Catholic ultramontanism and its political manifestation, the Zentrum Party (Centre Party), contributed to the stabilisation of denominational circles which only began to disband in the 20th century, after the sixties. On a legal level, the State officially ended the State Church in 1874 and introduced the Church Tax in 1875.