I agree re the culture, less so about the Catholic religion. Poland is a case in point like
@Czech_pivo points out.
It's quite clear when you deal with a NATO organization that there is a divide as between the northerners and the southerners. I tend to put the emphasis on the fact that the south was dominated by the Romans 2 millennia ago and developed elements of Roman law and culture and - dare I say it - a Pax Romana that still persists in attitude today.
Getting back to the prior comments re Germany, I can say that there is a clear division in attitude as between the northern industrial societies (including the former East Germany) and the more rural and agricultural south. That's changing, but the roots are still there. A lot of my generation from Berlin considered the Bavarians as hillbillies and frequently referred to them as "Römer Sklaven" - literally "Roman slaves" as the south, like France, had been conquered while the north never was.
I think that, and geography and climate, laid the foundation of the division between north and south Europeans which the subsequent 1,500 to 2,000 years built on.