A culture war this may be (although I think that is an exaggeration in itself, since the actions of Axel Springer do not reflect a popular movement), but it is wrong to suggest that it is similar to the culture war that exists in America.

In America, there are two main kinds of conservatives: "old fashioned" or "true" conservatives like Pat Buchanan, who may have bizarre ideas on some issues but are firmly placed within the European tradition. Then you have the "Christian" conservatives, who are not really conservatives at all, because they wish to radically transform the US, turning it into a Christian fundamentalist theocracy. Furthermore, these people are not really even Christians, since their theology has an eschatology radically different from that of all three main Christian sects. Their doctrine may be summarized as the rejection of reason itself, and they have been tremendously influential on right-wing American politics. Because they reject reason, rational debate with them is not possible (unlike the case with true conservatives), so that the only remaining possibility is cultural war.

Because Christian fundamentalism is a specifically American (or perhaps anglophone) phenomenon, Europe has only the first kind of conservative.

A bomb, H bomb, Minuteman / The names get more attractive / The decisions are made by NATO / The press call it British opinion -- The Three Johns