How did the Dreyfus affair strengthen anticlerical politics in France?

The Dreyfus affair significantly intensified anticlerical politics in France by exposing the perceived hostility of the Roman Catholic Church toward the Third Republic and its democratic values.12

During the crisis, many Roman Catholic periodicals and institutions aligned themselves with the anti-Dreyfusard camp, defending the army and opposing the revision of Alfred Dreyfus’s conviction. This alignment convinced republicans of the left that the Church, much like the army high command, was fundamentally antirepublican and opposed to the rights of man established during the French Revolution.2

As the pro-Dreyfusard coalition led by the Radical Party gained political dominance, they sought to neutralize these institutions. This shift led to a sustained wave of anticlerical legislation, including the dissolution and exile of most religious orders. These efforts culminated in the landmark 1905 law that formally separated church and state, effectively ending the Concordat of 1801.12