Dear Third Paw of Mewton, I so wish that you were right, but unfortunately, there is a sinister other side to this toxic American Christianity: they spread it as far and wide as they can. They call it (often Pentecostal) missionary work when they work hard at instilling hatred against for example homosexuals, prostitutes, drug addicts. "Englund mentions the flood of Christian missionaries to Sub-Saharan Africa over the last 40 years or so. Almost without exception, they are Christian conservatives from the South and middle US states, interested in African souls. They have been well received, preaching gospels of Christ saving souls, redemption and prosperity in conditions of the deepest poverty. US conservative values leaked into that narrative.The vitriol of homophobia has been imported from the American Right, out of context, and made, by way of religion, African."

I'm Italian.. we HAVE Vatican here... everything in our life is influenced by religion in a way that foreign people cannot understand (politics and all..) but my art books at school (even when I was a teenager) were not like that!!there was no censorship...

@monika soffronow, you are correct. At this very moment in time there is an issue regarding Steven Anderson, it has been all over our news. This person is programmed to speak at some congress here in Amsterdam, but the mayor of Amsterdam does not want him here: https://www.parool.nl/binnenland/halsema-komst-van-prediker-anderson-is-zeer-onwenselijk~a4626507/ Also there seems to be some discussion in our parliament of declaring this person to be a person non grata. As hate preaching is an offense in the Netherlands, does not matter to what religion this applies. PS: the very same person, Steven Anderson, was also kicked out of South Africa, Botswana & the UK for the exact same reason.

Monika, I am right. You just added to my point. These lunatics will spread their lies as far as they can take them. Africa gets that nonsense from us.

Mónica, don't forget South America. There are soooo many of those "preachers". It's frightening. They have so much power.

If only. I'm American, too, and educated and aware of the world enough to know it's not just an American thing. Your comment is like the previous Pope saying the pedo priest issue was an "strictly an American problem"... only to have it eventually come out some time later that it was, in fact, a world-wide problem.

@LittleFish: No one is saying that ALL Americans are like this. And I didn't think for a second that art books are commonly censored in the US. BUT people who would censor art books, protest against sex ed and want any glimpse of a nipple in TV censored are MUCH easier to find in the US than in Europe. Yeah, there's lots of perfectly reasonable people there with reasonable expectations, and it's just ""a few" maniacs. But your minority of maniacs is still larger, more vocal and overall much, much more noticeable and influential than is thinkable in most European countries.

You are correct, Dynein. Americans have a ridiculous fear of nudity, yet our tolerance for violence is off the charts. Interesting fact...I have many friends in Asia and South America, yet they have no problem showing their small children innocently taking a bath or running in the yard sans clothing. I tell them not to share such things with me, for fear of being prosecuted. Crimes against children are very real, but whereas other countries recognize actual *crimes*, American law is shoot first ask questions later. Better safe than sorry.

@LittleFish: if I remember correctly, Facebook censored a totally innocent painting depicting a breastfeeding Maria — the Vatican validated this very picture and even liked it.

With any luck they will forget how to reproduce and die out naturally.