Beliefs, principles and culture Temperance proponents saw the alcohol problem as the most crucial problem of Western civilization. Alcoholism was seen to cause secondary poverty, and all types of social problems: alcohol was the enemy of everything good that modernity and science had to offer. They believed that abstinence would help decrease crime, make families stronger, and improve society as a whole. Although the temperance movement was non-denominational in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church-goers. Temperance advocates used scientific arguments to back up their views, but at the core the temperance philosophy was moral-religious in nature. The alcohol problem was connected with a sense of purpose and modernity of the western nation, and was largely international in nature, in keeping with the international optimism typical for the period preceding the First World War.
beliefs principles and culture temperance proponents saw the alcohol problem as the most crucial problem of western civilization alcoholism was seen to cause secondary poverty and all types of social problems alcohol was the enemy of everything good that modernity and science had to offer they believed that abstinence would help decrease crime make families stronger and improve society as a whole although the temperance movement was non-denominational in principle the movement consisted mostly of church-goers temperance advocates used scientific arguments to back up their views but at the core the temperance philosophy was moral-religious in nature the alcohol problem was connected with a sense of purpose and modernity of the western nation and was largely international in nature in keeping with the international optimism typical for the period preceding the first world war