Mater dicit religionem sine misericordia duram esse, sicut sacrificium sine mente pia durum videatur.

Because after dicit Latin uses an indirect statement.

In an indirect statement:

• the subject of the reported idea goes into the accusative
• the verb of the reported idea goes into the infinitive

So the direct statement would be:

• religio sine misericordia dura est = religion without mercy is harsh

After mater dicit, that becomes:

• religionem sine misericordia duram esse = that religion without mercy is harsh

So religionem is not random accusative; it is the subject accusative of the indirect statement.

Not in the ordinary English-style sense.

The whole phrase religionem sine misericordia duram esse is what mater dicit. So the entire infinitive clause functions as the content of what is said.

Inside that clause:

• religionem is the subject
• duram is the predicate adjective
• esse is the infinitive verb

So it is better to think:

• Mater dicit [religionem sine misericordia duram esse].

rather than:

• Mater dicit religionem as if religionem alone were the object.

Because in an indirect statement, the verb becomes an infinitive.

The underlying direct sentence is:

• religio dura est

In indirect statement, est changes to esse:

• religionem duram esse

So duram esse means to be harsh, and together with religionem it gives that religion is harsh.

Because adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe.

• religio is feminine, so its adjective is duram in the accusative feminine singular
• sacrificium is neuter, so its adjective is durum in the nominative neuter singular

So:

• religionem ... duram esse
• sacrificium ... durum videatur

Even though both mean harsh, the ending changes to match the noun.

Because sine takes the ablative.

So:

• sine misericordia = without mercy
• sine mente pia = without a pious/devout mind

This is simply the normal case required by the preposition sine.

Because mens is following sine, and sine requires the ablative.

The dictionary form is:

• mens = mind

But after sine it becomes ablative singular:

• mente

And the adjective must agree with it:

• pia = feminine ablative singular, agreeing with mente

So sine mente pia literally means without a pious mind.

Literally it means with a pious mind in form, but because it follows sine, the whole phrase means without a pious mind.

Here mens does not just mean the physical mind as in modern English. It can mean:

• mind
• attitude
• intention
• inner disposition

So sine mente pia suggests not just lack of thought, but lack of a devout inner attitude.

Because Latin usually does not use a separate word like English that in this kind of sentence.

English says:

• Mother says that religion without mercy is harsh.

Latin normally says:

• Mater dicit religionem sine misericordia duram esse.

The idea of English that is built into the accusative + infinitive construction.

Sicut means just as, as, or in the same way as.

It introduces a comparison:

• religion without mercy is harsh,
• just as sacrifice without a pious mind seems harsh.

So the second clause gives a parallel example that supports or illustrates the first.

Because the sicut clause is a subordinate clause inside indirect discourse.

The main reported statement after dicit is expressed with accusative + infinitive:

• religionem ... duram esse

But subordinate clauses within reported speech are commonly put in the subjunctive. So instead of direct:

• sacrificium sine mente pia durum videtur

we get, inside the reported comparison:

• sacrificium sine mente pia durum videatur

So videatur shows that this comparison belongs to what mother says, not to the narrator’s own assertion.

Because the second part is not framed as a second independent reported statement. It is a subordinate comparison introduced by sicut.

Latin handles this as:

• main reported statement: accusative + infinitive
• subordinate clause inside that report: subjunctive

So:

• religionem ... duram esse
• sicut sacrificium ... durum videatur

If the second thought were presented differently, Latin might use a different structure. But with sicut as a dependent comparison, the subjunctive is the normal choice.

Because videor is a very common Latin verb meaning seem or appear.

It is historically the passive form of video (see), but in actual usage:

• videtur = he/she/it seems
• videatur = he/she/it may seem / seems, in the subjunctive

So durum videatur means seems harsh.

This is a standard idiom in Latin, and learners meet it very often.

Because of the syntax of the clause.

In the direct version, it would be:

• sacrificium sine mente pia durum videtur

There, sacrificium is clearly the thing that seems harsh.

It is true that sacrificium could look like either nominative or accusative, because in the neuter singular those forms are identical. But here the clause structure shows that it is nominative, the subject of videatur.

Because it is describing sacrificium, not describing the manner of the verb.

Latin says:

• sacrificium durum videtur = the sacrifice seems harsh

Here durum is a predicate adjective, linked to sacrificium by videatur.

An adverb would describe how something seems, but that is not the idea here. The idea is that the sacrifice itself has the quality harsh.

The direct version would be:

• Religio sine misericordia dura est, sicut sacrificium sine mente pia durum videtur.

Then, after mater dicit, Latin changes the first clause into indirect statement:

• religio ... dura est → religionem ... duram esse

And the subordinate comparison is adjusted into the subjunctive because it is now inside reported discourse:

• videtur → videatur

So the sentence you were given is a good example of how Latin reshapes direct statements when they are reported.

Yes, but in a normal Latin way.

Latin word order is more flexible than English, so the sentence is arranged for clarity and emphasis rather than fixed position.

A few things to notice:

• Mater dicit comes first to set up the reporting verb
• sine misericordia is placed next to religionem
• sine mente pia is placed next to sacrificium
• duram esse and durum videatur come late, so the judgment harsh lands strongly at the end of each clause

So the order is not random. It helps the reader see the two parallel ideas clearly.