Why did Catholic Societies develop a more artistic, expressive mentality than Protestant ones?

[WindowPhil]

Look at a Catholic cathedral and you'll see that there's more of an emphasis on form than the Protestant churches. The building looks like it was built to be thought of a work of art that glorifies God. In contrast to the churches built in your typical Protestant society, which tends to be more visibly utilitarian and "No Frills" in its purpose.

Look at the food and you'll see that it's the same thing. Catholic societies having a legacy of caring about the flavor and the form of the food. In contrast to Protestant ones, who tend to express a similarly utilitarian mentality. Compare something like a Sunday Roast in Britain to Ratatouille in France. Places like France have a long standing culinary tradition that you don't see as much of in Germanic countries. Food is thought of as an art form vs just something that people eat to survive. Tasting the notes of the wine vs chugging the beer.

There also appears to be a less prudish view of nudity among religious people in these societies in general. I've used Google Street View in Latin America, and I saw a mural of a topless woman in a public place. There's also stuff like Brazilian Carnival that comes to mind. This is remarkable considering your average person in Latin America is quite religious and quite socially conservative in many aspects. Compare that to a painting like Botticelli's Birth Of Venus, a painting of a nude woman that was painted and embraced in 1480's Italy. A religious Catholic place. Contrast that to protestant societies, who view nudity in a utilitarian, inherently sexual context (or at least the American Bible Belt does).

The same goes for staying up late. Catholic societies embrace their midnight masses and their night owl practices (IE the French Canadian practice of the Réveillon). Dinner is generally eaten much later in the day. Etc. Whereas Protestant societies value things like "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise".

What's the origin of this distinction?

[WindowPhil]

Catholics are naturally zesty, and full of life; for Italians, as one example, tomato sauce and various seasonings run in our veins. Protestants come from cold places, where scraping the permafrost to grab at various root plants is the primary pastime, and hard work is the only value--there is no place for art in such societies.

Must be recently evolved veins, since tomato sauce didnt exist in Italy until the last 500 or so years.
But yes, cold weather places arent exactly known for their cuisines since you're stuck with meat, potatoes, and pickled whatever most of the year.

Also, I suspect that the southern European trade routes allowed them to diversify their flavors more than the north.

Is that why the Southern U.S has a richer culinary tradition than the Northern U.S?