The Acharyas (Adi Shankara and later Madhavacharya and Visishtacharya) are considered the primary reasons for popularizing elements of the early Vedic Religion (worshipping the vedic deities via rituals while propounding philosophies around dualism and the Vedanta) around 700 AD. This was only the beginning of the Vedic revivalism process which took a few more centuries before it more widely accepted (People were less ritually inclined and espoused simpler everyday philosophies such as Karma, Varna, etc. during this period) but as the OP rightly points out, this has only remained as a minor element to this day and is only practised within Brahminical communities (who follow one of the acharyas). This is largely due to the influence of the Bhakti movement in the 8th-15th Century AD, but that is another story.

Source: Self. I was a practising brahmin for 10 years and studied YajurVeda and curiously looked into its history as part of it. My family devoutly follows the Shankaracharya (descendent of Adi Shankara - propounder of Shaivism, Advaita Vedanta and Mimama schools of thought).

First time poster, please advise on posting etiquette? Edit: Considered