Sentence:  More than creatures of metropolitan forces , the churches have taken the lead in counteracting the <WSD>interdependence</WSD> of metropolitan life , crystallizing and perpetuating the stratification of peoples , giving form to the struggle for social homogeneity in a world of heterogeneous peoples . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)