Changes

In politics, as democracy and popular government spread, religious motivations moved people into one party or the other. In Catholic countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, sharp confrontations emerged between clericals and anti-clericals; in countries with mixed Catholic and Protestant populations such as Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain and the U.S., political splits occurred along confessional lines.  In the U.S. the great majority of the Catholics became [[Democratic Party|Democrats]].  In Germany the Catholics formed their own Center party to fight off attacks from the Protestants, as during the [[Kulturkampf]].

In politics, as democracy and popular government spread, religious motivations moved people into one party or the other. In Catholic countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, sharp confrontations emerged between clericals and anti-clericals; in countries with mixed Catholic and Protestant populations such as Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain and the U.S., political splits occurred along confessional lines.  In the U.S. the great majority of the Catholics became [[Democratic Party|Democrats]].  In Germany the Catholics formed their own Center party to fight off attacks from the Protestants, as during the [[Kulturkampf]].

The British attempt to impose Protestantism on Ireland not only fueled the Catholic revival there but also contributed to its spread via emigration to the U.S. and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England itself, all of which increased the Catholic population. The Irish often took control of the Church in each of these countries. The Poles, having lost their nation state in the 1790s, turned to an intense religiosity that preserved national identity and which they carried with them to industrial centers in the U.S. and Germany. In the U.S., some Poles, frustrated with the Irish control of the Church, founded the  Polish National Catholic Church.

The British attempt to impose Protestantism on Ireland not only fueled the Catholic revival there but also contributed to its spread via emigration to the U.S. and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and England itself, all of which increased the Catholic population. The Irish often took control of the Church in each of these countries. The Poles, having lost their nation state in the 1790s, turned to an intense religiosity that preserved national identity and which they carried with them to industrial centers in the U.S. and Germany. In the U.S., some Poles, frustrated with the Irish control of the Church, founded the  Polish National Catholic Church<ref>https://pncc.org/</ref>.

===20th century===

===20th century===