“Persecution produced its natural effect on them. It found them a sect; it made them a faction.”

Fragments of quotes taken out of context convey little, and thus get rated low...

The current Black Lives Matter (the black side of the KKK - all being good Democrat Party affiliates) movement, currently enjoyed by Democrat Party / Media apologists in fulfilling the quotes most broad understanding is spot on. Atheistic Socialism's religious patrons are another example of the quote's accuracy. There is also an opposite effect such as, ethnic cleansing and the genocide of Christians in North Africa and the Middle East.

And the politicians' task is to make these factions believe their goals and the politician's are the same. Isn't persecution then simply another political tool for founding sects and factions? What happens to a collective force when the persecution ends? Found another sect! No better example is the current transgender movement where the 'persecution' is obviously contrived and the tiny fraction of the population (a few thousand people out of 300 million) somehow has taken center stage in the political arena.