Whilst I understand people's inclination to cast Lori and Niall as catholics, I firmly believe that they are protestants, specifically under the shadow of Scottish Calvinism. Outside of the UK, I think a lot of people assume that guilt/shame = Catholicism. But oh boy. No one does guilt and shame like a Scottish Calvinist. These people weren't allowed to smile on Sundays. They believe that any expression of ambition, exceptionalism, or creativity is "getting above yourself." Forget pessimism. These people are fatalists. You do not have the luxury of crying when things go wrong, because how else was it going to go? I think this is the biggest cause of cultural friction between Niall and Lori. Niall has an ego, he's artistic, he's odd; all things which Calvinism rips out at the root, because the community (The Kirk) was not only inclined to judge and ridicule you until you conformed, it was obliged to. There was no such thing as being an individual, of setting yourself appart, as Niall wants to (drama society, Oxford, a cultural career). You do not dream of deviating. There is no such thing as private shame - "public penance" is still very much embedded in Scottish working class culture because of this. When Lori watches her son growing into a sensitive, individualistic, aspirational man, her instinct is to try and suppress it as much as possible. Because her Calvinist instincts are telling her it will destroy him. And in many ways, she's not wrong.
