[annalex]

I agree with the article on several points. I would propose several theses along the same line.

1. Any thinking person, not only Luther, should have opposed the creation of European Parliament as a law-making body and the European currency union, and most thinking people did.

2. The present decline of the Western Civilization is a fault of the weakened Catholic Church in Europe, and especially the loss of Northern Europe to the Reformation.

3. Socialism is poison to Christian ethics in general, but different forms of Christianity suffer in different ways. When a socialism model is adopted in a Protestant country, the outcome is loss of faith altogether, but when socialism is adopted in a Catholic country the outcome is retreat of the faithful from the institutions of power, which then become corrupt. So, while Protestant countries continue to produce people who seem to be people of integrity like Cameron or Merkel, Catholic countries are run by dregs of society like Sarcozy (sp?) or the line after line of outright thugs in the Mediterranean democracies.

[annalex]

Forgot to say: I certainly agree that the war started by the Reformation is far from over.

[Cronos]

well, north-western Europe. In Northern Europe, the Lithuanians and Poles and Belgians and Germans south of the Rhineland-Paletinate are Catholic. In fact Germany as a whole now is just slightly more Catholic (30.0% compared to 29.9% for Lutherans, Baptists, Calvinists etc. as per the 2008 census)

Even in really north europe :) like Latvia, 28% are Catholic/Orthodox compared to 42% non-Catholics

Scandanavian countries are godless as are the English (well, the mosques are full though). But this is not something to crow against Lutherans for -- their pain is ours, I'd rather see strong Lutherans in Norway than Moslems..

[Cronos]

I think it depends on the "Protestant" model. If it is a Lutheran or Calvinist or Low Anglican model, then those are intrinsically tied to the state, so if the state becomes anti-religion, the population follows.

For Baptists, Mennonites it isn't that way.