Religion may have a formalised role in Europe, but it's actual IMPACT and influence is rather superficial.
Exactly. We have very few evangelicals here (perhaps on the order of less that 0.5%). These are throwing the right-left politics off balance, since McCain also has to satisfy those (he did that by choosing Palin) and Obama having to move more to the right in order to get enough votes.
Someone like jmcfst for example would not be on the street in Germany, because his parents would have told him that he should not play with the normal kids. In a way, the US is- with its large, very diversified protestantism- still a patchwork of colonies of people who were persecuted for their beliefs in Europe. Or they came as slaves (Afro-Americans) or immigrants (Hispanics).
Thus, no country in Europe is as diversified as the US (although we have about 7% Muslims in Germany), which makes it easier for politics to react to the different cultural needs of each group. And that is why Israel, with about 20% orthodox Jews is closer to the US in politics than Europe is.
That is exactly why the birth rate is so low within Europe. It is comparable to the well-educated, moderate white people in the US. Your average is just thrown off by those other groups.
