Protestant vs Catholic

I have a new theory that came to me during mass this morning. which means it's probably divinely inspired. If I had time, I'd write a book about it and then get famous and go on the Daily Show. Or find out that somebody else has already written a book about it and get sued for plagiarism.

Anyway, my theory is this: that the political divide in the US goes back to a difference in religious world views. Allow me to caricaturize:

The Protestant movement (especially in the US) has tended to be more congregation based, with fairly loose state and national structures. Coming from a reaction to the centralization and heirarchical structure of Roman Catholicism, it tends to mistrust large institutions and emphasize individual responsibility. Especially in the more Evangelical strains of Protestantism where faith becomes almost purely a personal relationship with Jesus. This plays out in the political arena as a mistrust of "big government" and a view that it is not government's role to "save people."

Catholicism, on the other hand, places a great emphasis on the institution as the embodiment of God's kingdom (although not its fulfillment) and faith is about an individual's relationship with Christ as part of a globally connected community. This plays out in the political arena as a view that government and other societal institutions have a major role in shaping society into something like the ideal kingdom that Jesus preached.

To me, this question about the basic role of government is at the root of the divide in our country. And wouldn't you know it's a religious war all over again.

Only a brief sketch.
Talk amongst yourselves.