>>512972277
>so was orthodox russia
Orthodox Russia stayed Orthodox.
>latvia and estonia
I specifically cited "elite affinity". It means countries whose rulers are more concerned about getting along with Southern European countries will tend toward Catholicism, while countries that want to be rid of Rome would tend toward Protestantism. Countries that initially wanted good relations with the Byzantines started out Orthodox.
So Poland might have a Slavic language, but they were Western European at heart until they fell into the Soviet sphere. Look at how rabid Poles are about not being related to Slavic Orthodox countries despite being linguistically Slav.
>>512972809
You're implying those places have a stronger affinity toward Southern Europe than Northern Europe, which is true. Despite being Slav, Slovenia is more Italian than Russian.
The other exceptions are countries like Ireland that stayed Catholic for reasons of national unity against their Protestant enemies. Everyone started out Catholic, so there will be some historical exceptions for political reasons. The Catholic-Orthodox divide is much more clear-cut.