Various sectarian and social differences within the various Arab societies was another fueling factor for pan-Arabism's decline. Sporadic Sunni and Shia religious divide exacerbated by internal and foreign factors caused reconsideration within Arab circles as to whether pan-Arabism was viable although the issue was religiously oriented. Social differences toed a similar line. Countries like Lebanon and Syria considered secular brought about a clash of thought with the likes of religious Saudi Arabia, whose longstanding promotion of religion was contradictory to the goals of the secular hierarchy within the two Levantine countries, for example.