I wonder how many of the world’s present ills can be explained in part by Protestantism, more specifically, contemporary American Protestantism? For example, how might the strictures of Protestantism, or lack thereof, add to the obesity epidemic and global warming? Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism all have fairly strict rules concerning diet. Catholics aren’t to eat meat on Fridays or throughout Lent. Muslims and Jews don’t eat pork. All have holidays involving fasting.  Moreover, when, at least, a medieval Catholic committed the sin of gluttony, his or her penance may well have been to feed the poor. Someone who ate more than their fair share of food was not only chastised, but made to share of what they obviously had too much. Protestant Christians, who depend on salvation through faith alone, have no reason to control their appetites or care for our world. While some have taken it upon themselves to act as stewards of the earth and seek to reduce their harm thereon through the careful and restrained consumption of both animals and fossil fuels, many devout Protestants simply profess their belief in Jesus Christ and, because this world is temporary, proceed to consume a day’s—or more—worth of calories in the form of fast food before driving home in their SUVs. A devout Catholic could not be so glib in the performance of such harmful deeds, the first is the sin of gluttony, the second is the sin of sloth. Both must be confessed, and, before absolution, penance must be done. Were Protestantism less popular, would America be thinner and less wasteful? Would Protestantism be so popular were it not so forgiving of gluttony, sloth and avarice?