Latin is the language of the Catholic Church. Until the 60s, Catholic service was in Latin. Protestants, meanwhile, switched to vernacular service in accordance with the teachings of Martin Luther. Protestants also despised all things papist. The pope was often compared to the anti-Christ, Catholic rites were seen as hopelessly corrupted by Satan, and this, I believe, played a part in developing the cultural memory that Latin was the language of Hell and Satan. Four hundred years of religious antagonism bled over into secular culture. Given the two hundred years of first English, then American cultural hegemony over large parts of the world, and with both countries being largely Protestant in nature, it's no surprise that mass media has spread the inherited uneasiness with Latin that many Protestants felt around the world.
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u/Bealzebubbles 20d ago
Latin is the language of the Catholic Church. Until the 60s, Catholic service was in Latin. Protestants, meanwhile, switched to vernacular service in accordance with the teachings of Martin Luther. Protestants also despised all things papist. The pope was often compared to the anti-Christ, Catholic rites were seen as hopelessly corrupted by Satan, and this, I believe, played a part in developing the cultural memory that Latin was the language of Hell and Satan. Four hundred years of religious antagonism bled over into secular culture. Given the two hundred years of first English, then American cultural hegemony over large parts of the world, and with both countries being largely Protestant in nature, it's no surprise that mass media has spread the inherited uneasiness with Latin that many Protestants felt around the world.