Gawain had his own convenient and pragmatic logic regarding the entire system of churches, believers, gods, and the right to interpret the scriptures. This logic might not conform to the habits of traditional clergy, nor to the interpretations found in church doctrine, but it undoubtedly aligned more closely with the laws governing the real world and the actual state of mortal society.
At the same time, he possessed the highest authority to speak and the ultimate right to interpret every action of the Divine Authority Council. In practical terms, this gave him the power to determine whether any church within the country belonged to the "true faith."
The Divine Authority Council's ideological reform was a gradual process. Gawain could not simply destroy every traditional church in the country as he had once bombarded Raven Plateau, nor could he forcefully change the mindset of entire groups with guns and cannons. During this gradual process of guidance, he would inevitably retain certain clergy who, though conservative and bound by old ways, were relatively receptive to reform and willing to support the Empire's new policies. And when it came to managing these more conservative groups of clergy, his ultimate right to interpret acts of faith was his most useful tool.
It was not as if no one resented his "regulation of the true faith." Some opponents even cursed him in secret, believing that this iron-fisted monarch's recklessness in the sacred realm of faith would sooner or later bring a backlash upon him, that violating divine authority would inevitably set himself ablaze. Even some people who supported his rule held such thoughts, though theirs might have arisen from genuine concern that some of His Majesty the Emperor's bold actions would lead to conflict between himself and the gods.
But Gawain himself had never worried