Germans divided by religion

In OTL, Prussia's push for a single Greater German state was thwarted due to its strong Protestant identity, which would be diluted if strongly Catholic Austria were included. Hence, a Small Germany was created with a Protestant majority and general tolerance of Catholics.

What if, instead of Germans overcoming their religious differences in OTL, they cling to their religious identity like Yugoslavs? Is it possible that Germany would be like Yugoslavia, a land of similar cultures divided almost solely by religion? Is it possible that to the present day, two "German" states, one strongly Catholic and one strongly Protestant, would create a sometimes violent mutual distrust? Where would the Jews fit in this alternate Germany?
 
I think for that to happen it would be necessary to have "Germany" at least partially ruled by outside powers, as was the case for the Serbo-Croatian speakers for much of their history. When those outside powers collapse, the Germanophone ethno-religious groups band together in a single state that ends up balkanizing horrifically down the line.

And why stop at just two religions? Throw in some conflict between Protestant denominations too (i.e. Lutherans vs. Calvinists) for maximum "fun"!

Like in Yugoslavia, the different Germanophone nationalities would probably take their names from different regions... We could have Lutheran "Brandenburgers" (who gained independence from the Swedish Empire in the late 19th century) coming into conflict with Catholic Saxons (former subjects of the Polish-Hungarian Empire, a Jagiellonian production!) and Calvinist "Westphalians" (obviously former subjects/puppets of a Calvinist alt-France). Throw in some other odd Protestant denominations (or just entrenched senses of nationalism) in Württemburg and Bavaria (maybe their languages diverge to the point of them being considered separate from other Germanophones, like Slovenes or Macedonians from Serbs/Croats/Bosniaks), and that really makes things chaotic...

I'm imagining that the butterflies produce a Jewish East Prussia, but that could just be the cliché wreaking havoc with my mind...
 
A problem with that is that the ethnolinguistic identity of Germanness predates the Reformation, so I suppose a better approach would be downplaying it. It is certainly possible to have formerly German groups develop their own national identities - vide the Swiss and Austrians, who do not appreciate being called Germans. The problem is that they are still likely to share much the same national mythology.

IMO the most productive moment for this kind of thing is the 16th/17th century, when new Absolutist structures of Obrigkeit replaced feudal governance in much of Germany. You could easily see big chunks of the Catholic south falling under the sway of a more successful emperor, and if this power is then delivered a decisive check by some hypothetical Protestant opponent (in league with France, perhaps), you could see the reulting South German state coalesce into an entity that will in the future be called "Austria". The Lower Rhine could become French outright, or be turned into a collection of minor states fought over by Paris and Vienna. tzhe remaining northern rump would become entirely Protestant (just as the south would become entirely Catholic - ethnic cleansing and forced conversions will see to it) and could develop its own national identity sooner rather than later.

My favourite scenario, though, is the emergence of a North German League (Thalerraum) and a South German League (Guldenraum) after 1866. Both would claim to be German, but since neither could claim to be all German, both would need to develop discrete identities. It would be messy as hell, but great fun to write. Take you about five years of serious reading to do it justice, I'm afraid.
 
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