[big_man_ting]

I feel like you're generalizing "Europe" a bit. Look at the Orthodox church, they are deep-pocketed and heavily funding the construction of monasteries, an example being Romania. It's a common thing to see in Romania actually - a lot of churches being built, to a point where it's become a running joke that there are more churches than hospitals in Romania. It's a sad thing to see, but there's plenty of that in "Europe".