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Anders's avatar

Thanks, very well writen account of that part of Germany. Another pecularity is Karneval, which has its roots in catholic tradition but dates back to the french occupation in Napoleonic times.

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Adie Bond's avatar

I do enjoy your trips to foreign lands and what you find there and linking it back to Germany. I was interested that you said how the AfD didn't use Christianity as part of its rallying call unlike similar far right groups elsewhere, I wonder if this makes them more or less attractive to voters having adopted this stance or is it something the average German east or West isn't bothered about.

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Dave's avatar

Excellent piece 👏I went to braga for football , it was a europa league game , their ground has a big rock behind the goal if I remember correctly, very very cheap for food and drink , enjoy 👏👏

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Wyn Grant's avatar

Very interesting. Historically in Britain there was a strong association between Catholicism and the Labour Party, above all in the West of Scotland. When the SNP first emerged as a significant player in the 1960s its activists were mainly Protestant. My impression of the CDU and even more so the CSU was that Catholics were very much in the ascendancy whereas the FPD tended to be more Protestant, but care was taken in the CDU to ensure that Protestants were represented in ministerial posts (I am talking about pre-unification).

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Mark Kuhlman's avatar

Very thought provoking overview - I’ll reread this again later after I reflect on it. Thanks!

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Paul Drexler's avatar

Very insightful on a subject most historians are a bit squeamish about.

BTW, a note on Brandenburg today vs. in the time of Fontaine might be interesting.

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Bob Ewald's avatar

Another good read. It is, however, a misnomer to characterize Luther as a reformer. He had no intention to work with Rome toward reforms; he believed himself correct and chose to split with Catholicism. As alluded to in the article, though, his split lead to several wars & political upheaval.

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Jeff's avatar

Nice, I particularly appreciate the maps, which show the evolution in church following very well.

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James McNeill's avatar

I’m aware of some of the religious history of Germany, I was a wee bit surprised as I thought our island had a lock on this strife. I was reading Peter Wilson’s Europe’s Tragedy (Penguin, 2009), currently on hiatus as I read one of your other recommendations. I struggled a little with it. Despite being born into a quintessential West of Scotland Irish Catholic heritage I found the religious aspect of the Thirty Years War enormously annoying. Nevertheless a good book. I may be mistaken however I have always felt that low level sectarianism is the background radiation of some aspects of Scottish life. From which I have assiduously tried to absent myself. Back to Germany. I think we should be thankful to Christianity for inspiring the creation of some wonderful music and architecture. I do wonder how much religion has historically held back the Catholic communities of Southern Europe. A good read with my Sunday morning coffee.

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