By David Carlin, The Catholic Thing - Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. And then, as the Empire dissolved, it remained for many centuries the religion of both Western and Eastern Europe. And when Western Christianity in the 16th and 17th centuries split into Catholic and Protestant parts, both parties continued to believe that earthly humans are potential gods/saints – and potential devils as well... in the 21st century. In a highly modernized country like the US, many in our society, including especially those in our culturally elite sections, have repudiated the old religion and its belief in immortality.