Why did both religious orthodox thinkers and skeptics criticize Matthew Arnold?

Matthew Arnold’s religious writings, such as Literature and Dogma, positioned him as a founder of Anglican "modernism," a stance that drew simultaneous criticism from two opposing groups:1

• The Orthodox: Religious traditionalists accused Arnold of infidelity. They argued that he undermined core tenets of faith by reducing God to a vague "stream of tendency" and replacing definite religious belief with mere emotion.1
• The Skeptics (Infidels): Conversely, skeptics criticized Arnold for his refusal to abandon the church entirely. They viewed his continued adherence to certain Christian beliefs as inconsistent, arguing that he retained structures whose foundations he had already intellectually dismantled through his own critical work.1

Arnold viewed his approach as a constructive effort to preserve religion as the highest form of culture, believing that while traditional popular religion was fading, humanity could not survive without a religious basis grounded in the modern spirit.1