I discovered on my computer a detailed description of this world I first wrote 10 years ago. I re-read it, and I though it was still good, so I'm posting it here
History
The PoD of this world is that Thomas Aquinas does not get hit by a tree branch on his way to the Second Council of Lyon in 1274. Instead, he lives to make it to the council, and achieves the reconciliation of the Eastern and Western Churches. All the churches are allowed to retain their individual Rites, provided they agree to accept the Doctrine of Faith laid out by the council. The Eastern Churches excepted the Pope as the administrative head of the church, while to pope issued a Bull stating that, in the event that the Pope is accused of violating the Doctrine of Faith, an ecumenical council must be held to settle the issue (a similar idea was proposed in OTL at the Council of Pisa. Here, it is a proposal to reconcile the Eastern Churches disagreement with the Pope as Ecumenical Patriarch).
Emperor Andronikos II was roundly condemned by the united church for his efforts to undo the union, and was deposed in 1282 and replaced on the throne with his 5-year old son Michael IX, with Patriarch Basil II as regent.
In 1307, when Philip IV of France tried to annihilate the Knights Templar and assert the domination of the king over temporal affairs, the Pope called a Crusade against France which united the powers of Europe against the King. France was abolished as a country, partitioned between the Papal States and the Knights Templar. The Hundred Years War never happened, and England and Burgundy kept all their territory which they otherwise would have lost.
When Albert I of Germany was stripped of the title of Holy Roman Emperor, the title was instead bestowed upon Ferdinand IV of Castile. This was initially because Ferdinand had a legitimate claim, descending from his grandfather Alfonso X of Castile. He soon proved his worth when he supported the Papacy's annexation of Sicily and declared war on Aragon on the Pope's behalf to force them to negotiate (and to increase his own power in Spain). This, combined with the Pope's attempts to increase his power over the states of Northern Italy, turned the feud of the Black and White Guelphs into a full-scale war in which the German states were declared heretics. The remaining radical churchmen who opposed the Pope's temporal authority rallied behind Albert. The war lasted for decades. The War of Crown and Cloth, as it was called, ended with the Holy Roman Empire being abolished and the title and role of the defender of Christendom being given to the King of Castile and Leon. The radicals were all condemned as heretics, and their movement wiped out. Much territory in Germany was seized by the Prince-Bishoprics, the Teutonic and Templar Knights, and other agents of the church. The Kingdom of Poland supported Albert, and instead of losing Danzig, the Teutonic Knights conquered all of Poland. They would go on to conquer Lithuania, and rival Russia as the greatest power in Eastern Europe. The feudal monarchs were put firmly in their place. The pope was not only sovereign over the church but, as the bull Unam sanctam declared, over temporal affairs as well. This war, and the following reformation movement, also resulted in the formation and eventual recognition of several new Rites in Germany, which in OTL would be called protestant. This was in an attempt to (successfully) split the movement by luring the moderates back into the church.
Unlike in OTL, the successful independence of Switzerland from the Habsburgs also inspired a few more German states to reject feudalism in favor of elected representatives of good Christians. The Papacy endorsed this, because these groups favored supporting the Pope in his war against Germany.
When Edward I attempted to invade Scotland, and the Pope forbade it, Edward backed down, rather than suffer the same fate as the kings of France, Aragon and Germany. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on cementing his power over Wales, Ireland, and the French lands. For his obedience, he was recognized by the Pope as the only rightful holder of the title King of France. Scotland remained a fief of the Pope.
Throughout the 14th century, to Papacy grew in temporal power to a position of complete dominance in Europe. The institutions of the church were in a constant state of evolution, growing to support an efficient bureaucracy to manage this new territory and influence. However, without the influence of the King of France, the puppet papacy of Avignon did not exist, nor did the abundance of popes seduced by wealth and luxury into simony. Although the popes centralized their power and asserted their sovereignty over all temporal authority, most were not as corrupt as the OTL Avignon popes and followed the model of OTL's Pope Benedict XII, Pope Innocent VI, Pope Urban V, and Pope Gregory XI. Because of this, John Wycliffe and Jan Huss followed the pattern of Erasmus IN TTL. Wycliffe himself was mentored by William of Ockham as a young man, which changed his opinion of Benedictines, and made him a stronger supporter of the Papacy. Still, they noticed many areas in need of reform, such as indulgences, the over-veneration of relics, and any doctrine advocating more than faith for salvation, among other things. This led to the Council of Siena in the Early 15th century, which made sweeping reforms throughout the church, purging thousands of corrupt practices on every level, cleaning out many high ranking official misusing their authority, and bringing the church into alignment with the doctrine of faith. Wycliff is known IN TTL as "The Great Reformer." The reforms enacted by the council took decades to complete, particularly establishing more systems of checks and balances to ensure that the wealth of the church would be directed solely toward God's work, but it would be a century well-spent. John Wycliffe also proposed the translation of the Bible into the common language, which was supported by the council. The Pope commissioned a large committee of monks to begin creating official translations of the Bible into the vernacular, for copying.
In 1383, when Ferdinand I of Portugal died, a succession crisis resulted in Portugal as a result. Just as in OTL, Grand Master John of the Order of Aviz claimed the throne by right of being the natural son of King Peter I. As in OTL, he secured the throne with the support of the Order of Aviz, but this time with much more support from the Papacy. He did not resign as Grand Master, and the Kingdom of Portugal was ultimately annexed by the Order of Aviz in TTL.
The Reconquista proceeded more rapidly in TTL than in our own. Without the support of France, Navarre was soon conquered by Castile-Leon. The King of Castile-Leon then went on the conquer Aragon during the Sicilian War. The Muslims were finally driven from Iberia completely by the mid-1400s. Joan of Arc (who was born a citizen of Papal France) still received her visions from the Archangel Michael, but this time it told her to go south and lead the King of Spain to drive out the Muslims. She became a legendary military hero, particularly after the unbelievable victory at the Siege of Grenada. The King of Spain, now finding himself Holy Roman Emperor, changed his title to Emperor of Spain.
However, the mid-15th century also brought serious drawbacks to Christendom. Even as the Muslims were being driven out of Iberia, Mehmed the Conqueror led the newly formed Ottoman Empire to drive back the expansion of the Crusader states in the Levant and Anatolia. Renewed interest in Crusades had kept the Levant free from the Mamluks, and even allowed them to gain territory. However, the lack of the Great Papal Schism prevented the Franco-Mongol Treaty, so the Ilkhanate fell more quickly and completely to the Ottomans. In the 1450s, The Ottomans conquered the Latin Empire and the sacked Constantinople. This led to the center of the eastern church's power relocating north, to Russia. Russia was even more closely aligned with Byzantium in this world, and the reign of Ivan the Great was fueled by waves of Crusaders, leading to an even more successful early formation of the Tsardom of Russia. However, this was a Russia where the Patriarch of Moscow was already as powerful as OTL's Patriarch Nikon at his height.
The age of exploration began much like it did in OTL, with the circumnavigation of Africa in the late 15th century by the Empire of Spain. There was no European slave trade in this world. Instead, the medieval church position on slavery remained unchanged. Slavery was a practice of unchristian heathens, and something to be forbidden to all Christians and preached against. In the Christianizing of Africa, the European tried to eradicate the practice of slavery through the spread of Christianity, instead of adopting it. The new world was discovered by Christopher Columbus. In this timeline, however, Columbus sailed from the south of France, on behalf of the Pope himself. His mandate was the same as in OTL, to establish trade with the native states, Christianize and elevate them, until they could be welcomed into Christendom.
European exploration IN TTL was characterized by trade, by waves of missionaries educating, healing, and Christianizing the natives, and by small groups of settlers taking advantage of the vast open spaces in the New World to set up their own colonies. There were far more colonies than in OTL, and much smaller. There was no create push for aggressive, massive, militaristic expansion as in OTL, and the idea that the natives were innately inferior to Europeans died out within a century. The only exceptions were in the case of the extremely hostile, anti-Christian natives such as the Aztecs, who killed missionaries and practiced human sacrifice and other barbarous pagan practices. In these cases, massive military interventions by the militant orders and the European colonial powers (primarily England and Spain) were called in. Even in these cases, the end result was not usually complete conquest. Instead, the hostile government would be deposed and a more favorable, native monarch would be put into power. The massive European epidemics still happened in this timeline, however, though the missionary doctors worked as hard as possible to reduced the casualties. These were no forced relocations, and far more native states exist in the Americas and Africa than in OTL. Spain and England formed the largest colonial empires, and England would eventually lose the colonial race due to troubles at home.
These problems manifested in the beginning of the 16th century. Because the Hundred Years War never happened, Edward the Black Prince lived to succeed his father and become King Edward IV. He reigned until 1385 giving his son Richard time to grow to maturity, and leaving Richard an England that was far more stable than in OTL, and not weakened by years of war. Because of this, the house of Plantagenet remained on the throne, and the War of the Roses was averted as well. However, by the end of the 1400s, England had become highly resentful of the Popes protection over the Kingdom of Scotland. Rich, powerful, and long rested from War, the King of England decided to separate the English church from Christendom, and make himself head of the Church. His first action was to invade Scotland. In response, the Pope called the English Crusade, which humbled the kingdom of England. The Anglican church was prevented before it could ever form. The King's 18-year old daughter, who was married to a Prince of Spain, became queen. The Archbishop of Canterbury was elevated to the rank of Cardinal, and ennobled as the Duke of Canterbury (a dukedom linked to the religious office). From that time onward, the Cardinal-Duke of Canterbury would serve as the King's Chancellor. England remained a major power and defender of the church. They were not to be annihilated, as France was.
While the English Crusade was concluding, events were also transpiring in Russia. Ivan the IV came to the throne, as in OTL, as was just as ruthless and dangerous as before. Despite his self-proclaimed devotion to the Church (for whom he claimed he was pushing Russia further and further east), the church increasingly censored him for his brutality. All matters came to a head after the Sack of Novgorod. Ivan was excommunicated by the Patriarch for the massacre. He chose to defy the Patriarch, and place the Russian church under the rule of the Tsar, just as the King of England had attempted. Their was a civil war in Russia, called the Time of Troubles, between the forces loyal to the Tsar, and the forces loyal to the Patriarch. In the end, Tsar Ivan the IV was deposed, and the Tsardom of Russia abolished. The Patriarch was confirmed by the pope as the spiritual and temporal ruler of All the Russians, and the territory was proclaimed the New Roman Empire. In addition to Russia, the Patriarch was declared to be the rightful ruler of the former Byzantine Empire, and this claim was soon to become very important.
The increased aggression of the Ottomans was beginning to rouse a tiger of retribution and rage in Europe. While the Christian powers were occupied with the English Crusade, Sulieman the Magnificent had seen fit to expand his power in the Balkans, and even threaten the Grand Duchy of Austria. Only the swift intervention of a coalition of Christian forces had saved Vienna, but this had persuaded all the European powers that they must begin preparing for a new Crusade, a final, ultimate crusade which would end the threat of the Mohammadan hordes once and for all. The ottoman expansion was still less than OTL. Stronger Crusader states kept them out of Africa, where the Manluks remained dominant. The French were not their to ally with the Ottomans, and the Venetians were severely punished for attempting a similar alliance, costing them much territory and power.
The Great Crusade was finally launched in the late 16th century. The massed forces of all of Europe came crashing down on the Middle East and North Africa. They were joined by the Crusader states, the Empire of Ethiopia, and Christian revolts in Egypt, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia, as well as the Balkans. The war lasted for nearly a century, covering much of the 16th century and some of the 17th century. By the time the war ended, around the mid-17th century, the Muslim world can been completely annexed into Christendom. Anatolia and the former Byzantine Empire were annexed by the New Roman Empire. The rest of the Balkans were restored to free Christian monarchies. The Crusader States in the Levant expanded. Much of Mesopotamia and Iran was placed under the rule of the Patriarch of the East (when the Nestorian returned to communion with the Catholic Church). New Crusader states were established in Arabia, particularly by conquerors from East Africa. Ethiopia conquered the Adal Sultanate and Yemen. Massive amounts of territory were seized by Militant orders, new and old. With the fall of the Mamluks, most of Egypt was placed under the rule of the Patriarch of Alexandria. Both of these Patriarchates were organized along the lines of the Papal States. The former Crusader states of North Africa were restored, and the rest of the territory partitioned among the Christian kings. Ethiopia would become one of the first Christian nations outside of Europe to join Christendom and pay homage to the Pope. More African and American states followed in time.
This time period from the 1500s through the 1600s represented the height of the renaissance, just as it did in OTL. The intellectual advancements in every discipline happened even more abundantly and quickly in this world. No Reformation or Papal Schism meant that the was far greater support from the church for study and discovery. Geniuses like Galileo were not censored for political reasons, and Leonardo di Vici received much more support for his inventions. Notably, the Great Crusade stimulate much interest in his military inventions, such as the repeating musket. The renaissance would continue on through the 18th century, and lay the foundations for the church's avid pursuit of greater understanding of God's universe and better ways of carrying out his missions on Earth (the creed of the scholastics).
The Great Crusade had the secondary effect of slowing the rate of European exploration, which helped the church to "encourage" the Christian nations to treat the natives as equals. This, plus trade and education from missionaries, enabled them to rapidly close the gapes in their technology. The new world was soon divided in to large native Christian nations, as well as European colonies. The 17th century saw a redoubling of European trade, missionaries, and occasional interventions in southern and eastern Asia. In the 18th century, the reactionary elements in Japan gained a supporter in the Shogun, which sparked a civil war. The Shogun planned to chose of Japan and outlaw all western influences. The Emperor threw his support behind the Christian in exchange for western support. The Christian powers intervened, which ended with the abolition of the Shogunate and an early version of the Meiji Restoration. Japan becomes a mighty, Christian empire (concentrated primarily in Northeast Asia).
In China things did not go nearly so well at first. The rising influence of Christianity and western ideas in China did lead to civil war in the Ming Dynasty. But the Christian powers were too occupied with other wars to provide support for the pro-Christian factions in China. The Qing Dynasty formed, closed off China, and the remained fiercely isolationist until the early 19th century. There were no Opium Wars. In fact, the raping of Africa and Asia did not happen in TTL. Rather, the colonization continued along the same pattern as it began, trade and evangelism. China experienced a revolution, similar to the Taiping rebellion in OTL. Hong Xiuquan experienced a vision in which Christ gave him the mandate of heaven (similar to the vision of Constantine). In TTL, the Christian powers gave Xiuqan their full support, and the Hong Dynasty completely overthrew and replaced the Qing Dynasty, making all the reforms planned for OTL's Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Hong Dynasty still rules China as a theocratic absolute monarchy to this day, with the Emperor holding more power over the church in his country than any other monarch, except possibly the Holy Roman Emperor. They control all the territory of the old Qing Empire.
This is a much more conservative world, without the massive rise of radical new conflicting philosophies of our world's Enlightenment. Instead, this period is replaced with smooth, steady, scholastics-based progress, building upon perfecting the discoveries of previous generations to make continual improvements in the lives of the people and the study of the world. The past is valued. Innovation is encouraged, as long as it is well-grounded in history. The Industrial revolution did still occur in TTL, but at a much slower pace. National parks were created over a hundred years earlier, out of respect for God's creations. The middle class rose to power FAR slower than in OTL, and this, combined with different banking practices, means that the class of corporate businessmen is far smaller in the present day. Businesses remain mostly small, local, and family owned. There are no massive megacorporation, and there were no robber barons. The divide between rich and poor smoothed slowly and evenly over the years, with the church urging austerity on the rich and cutting into their power and influence, while using their donations to uplift the poor through social programs. Fairness and justice are engrained in everyone from childhood as the will of God, which has created more and more social mobility over the years as employers focus of the good of their employees and customers. Everyone is considered equal before God, and deserving the same rights as all his creations (human rights, based on the Bible). Women and men are treated as different, but equally valuable, and while women are certainly not forbidden from pursuing whatever career they want, it is accepted that on average women are better at some things than men and vice versa. Nothing like equal opportunity hiring was ever needed or contemplated. There is no pressure for women to enter male fields, or for men to enter female fields. Excessiveness of any kind is frowned upon, unless it is excess of worship. Opulence is seen only in religious structures, and only in places where the rite permits it. The poor and helpless are seen as missions to aid, not as failures who need to pull themselves up and earn a place in society. The accumulation of greater knowledge and understanding is universally supported, provided it is based in the certainty of a stable, created universe and the inherent truth of the Bible.
The most powerful nations in the world today are the Empire of Spain, and the English Empire, which have been allies and partners for nearly three centuries, and essential divided colonialism such as it was between them. The Holy Roman Emperor of Spain remains an absolute monarch, though with the church institution slightly woven into the government. The King of England is little more than a puppet, however, who loyally enforced the rule of the clergy. One third of all seats in parliament are reserved for the church, and the Lord Chancellor is still the Cardinal-Duke of Canterbury. Their power is closely rivaled by the New Roman Empire, the Empire of China, the Empire of Japan, the Ethiopian Empire, and the various Militant Orders of the Church. The Papal States themselves are only a local power as for as resources and manpower go, but since everyone knows the scope of the Pope's influence and the wealth of the Church, it should be considered the dominant world power. The Incan Empire, the Commonwealth of New England, the Kingdom of New Jerusalem (actually a democracy, based in the American mid-west), and a Mesoamerican Republic that succeeded the Aztecs are the most powerful nations in the new world. India never unified, though many of its states are notable local powers. Central Asia is divided between several Nestorian Khanates. Islam is a prominent minority religion all over the world, particularly within the former Crusader states of the middle east. The Kaaba was eventually purchased by a private Muslim group and painstakingly restored in the 20th century. The Temple of Jerusalem was also rebuilt by a private Jewish group, on a much smaller and less opulent scale. The Kingdom of Jerusalem still controls OTL Israel. With no Holocaust, the Zionist movement has never built up much steam. Nowhere in the world is there active persecution of non-Christian religions, but they are clearly countercultural. Non-Christians pay higher taxes (because they do not tithe to the church) and are limited in how much they can express their beliefs in public forums (similar to the treatment of Christians in OTL). Buddhism is also a common religion, found all over the world. Otherwise, most ethnic religions are practiced by such a small minority they are almost unknown. Public Atheism and cults that do no keep to the Doctrine of Faith have been ruthlessly stamped out.
With the idea of the nation state never rising to significance, and the Church allowing more globalism earlier and less imperialism, countries are more focused on internal reform, and nations are smaller and project less of their power directly. At the same time, although local cultural flavor is valued, multiculturism and the idea that there is more than one "right way" is a completely countercultural concept.
Government
Most of the planet earth is ruled by the church, in one form or another. The Papal States is a mighty empire, stretching from southern France to OTL Albania, and coving all of Italy. The Pope rules it as an absolute monarch, with the individual provinces controlled by his legates. However, as the power of the Holy See has grown, an enormous bureaucracy has also grown to oversee it.
In addition to these lands, the church also has ultimate authority of the Prince-Bishoprics. These lands are modeled after the Prince-Bishoprics of OTL Holy Roman Empire, as well as Florence under Girolamo Savonarola. The Bishops (and sometimes Cardinals and Patriarchs) hold the authority of monarchs, and the secular offices have been completely taken over by corresponding church offices. In Russia, for example, the Patriarchs have only risen in power since the time of Patriarch Nikon, and today the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus is also the Emperor of the New Roman Empire, which has regained much of Asia Minor.
Then there are the militant orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, the Knights Templar, and the Teutonic Knights. They rule over vast territories in their own right, many of which were awarded because of their vast strategic resources and positions, and were often captured by this Holy Armies in the church's many crusades against the unchristian states. In these states the Grandmaster rules as an elective monarch, chosen from the leading ranks of the order's officers. Although the title "knight" survives, these orders are now modern, meritocratic militaries, and resemble Christian military juntas.
Finally, the church's control also includes the monastic lands. The non-militant orders (monasteries, abbeys, and nunneries) have continued to grow in wealth and power, until their lands are large enough to hold villages, towns, and even small cities, all of which are ultimately under the authority of the lord abbot. Many large territories are controlled by Prince-Abbots. Decisions are made in Chapter, where the abbot presides as first-among-equals and every monk has an equal vote. The laymen who live on the lands of the abbey must bring petitions before the chapter, and then leave while the monks debate them.
Outside of the direct control of the church, there are also a number of (mostly small) quasi-secular states. Most are of small-to moderate size by modern standards, though there are several impreeive empires as well. Prayer is conducted before all major decisions, and being a good church member is required to be elected in those states which are republics. No-one imagines that a state without a church forming a major part of it is practical, or even possible. The idea of the modern nation state never evolved in this world, due to the absence of the reformation and the enlightenment, and the slower introduction of Industrialization.
The monarchies are founded under the idea of the divine right of kings, with the king strongly supported by the church. However, there was no church of England in this world. Henry the 8th was deposed for defying the power of the church. A few of the monarchs have gone caesaropapist (particularly the Heavenly Kingdom of China), but they are a definite minority, and their religious office is emphasized more than the secular one. The monarchies are a mixture of absolute and constitutional states, though parliaments are usually weaker than in OTL (more like they were in the Renaissance of OTL). All monarchs are considered the "defenders of the faith," and this is the primary purpose of the state.
The republics, although small, are far more abundant, spread all across the world. That is because the churches that embrace the more reserved protestant rites of the church frown on too much direct power invested in the church hierarchy. However, in these states, the church still has extreme indirect power. They take their inspiration from the Republics of Geneva and Zurich, the Mayflower Compact, and the Rule of Saint Benedict. They strongly resemble Jan Mattys and John of Leiden's anabaptist state of Munster, and the "theodemocracy" proposed by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Only Christians can vote, or serve in government. Church lands remain sovereign territory, church officials are answerable only to church law, and the church is in charge of maintaining the communities' moral health.
In addition, there are many thousands of religious communities, which are sovereign over themselves. These communities are recognized as independent governments by the church, and are usually led by local ministers. In OTL they might be called cults or communes, but their Rites, though exclusive, are all in communion with the Church. The most common of these are variants of the Amish Rite, which do not use any technology more advanced than the 18th century.
The absence of the Enlightenment meant that social rebellion is more frowned upon, as opposed to scrupulously abiding by the demands of your state, your family, and your God. Romanticism, modernism and postmodernism in the arts and literature, humanism, and most radical philosophies not rooted in religion are rare or unknown. Abstract nationalism and ethnic identity are less important that religious adherence. Most people identify first by their family, then by their region and language, then by their rite, and finally by the state they pay taxes to.
Healthcare
Free basic healthcare is available to all people, provided by the church from local Hospices and Missionary Clinics. These evolved from the monastic Hospices of the Middle Ages, and have become so common that non-ecclesiastical doctors work only in the Specialist fields. There are specialists who work for the Hospices and clinics, but they are no more common than in OTL. Because of all this, global health and longevity is much higher than in OTL. However, people who suffer from psychologic disorders which make them unable to stop acting immorally (including homosexuality, as it was defined in the days of vice squads) may be confined to hermitage-style compounds where with can be kept comfortable and isolated while they receive treatment. Drug abuse is virtually unknown. Counselling is usually provided by ministers. Healthcare is predicated on the idea that we are not sovereign over our own bodies, God is. Patients are not allowed to refuse treatment to save their lives or the lives of others.
Education
The church provides free education for everyone. Every community has a church-run school where the minister teaches the children all the way through High School. All education in these schools is from a Christian viewpoint. It is as excepted fact that religion and is synonymous with learning, and that the two can never be separated without destroying the validity of both (the view of the Scholastics in OTL). The standard of education is high, because the church supports the position of Thomas Aquinas and St. Paul, that through the study of the universe, we can learn more about its complexity and better worship the creator, and we honor God by honing our minds and learning from our elders. Private schools exist, particularly for the non-Christian minorities that still exist in every country. Universities are non-Church run, but all professors are required to study theology, and most are priests or ministers. The global education level is much higher in this world. Literacy is nearly universal.
Military
There have been no major wars for over 200 years. Disputes between nations are settled by papal legates, who act as negotiators, because the church is seen as neutral and is respected as holding the authority of God over all kings. In the event that a nation does not accept the terms of the final settlement, then they will find themselves subject to excommunication, and an "intervention" by the militant orders. Since 90% of the world's armies obey the directives of the church, directly or indirectly, no nation can marshal enough resistance to make the intervention last longer than a year at most. Because of this, military technology is only about 1960s level. Weapons of mass destruction have never been developed. Universal conscription was never introduced, without the Enlightenment, and armies are made up of professional soldiers, though when called up to war of behalf of Christ enlistment goes through the roof. In the territories of the militant orders, at least one male in every family joins the military.
Economy
All banks follow the model of the Monte dei Paschi, and the banks of the Templar Knights. Usury is illegal in nearly every country, and massive speculation on the stock market is frowned upon. Credit cards do not exist, but debit cards do. Debtor's prisons still exist in the secular countries and some of the church countries, and living with unpaid debt is universally condemned by society. As such, the economy is much more stable. There are rarely any dramatic Depressions of Recessions, except in the case of natural disasters. Nearly 10% of the world's wealth is donated to the church every week, not including the vast revenues from the church lands. Excessive wealth is socially frowned upon, so the very rich donate most of their extra wealth to the church, in order to buy more favor from heaven. All of this is funneled to the needy people of the world. The church sponsors hundreds of thousands of charities all over the world, all of which provide for needs of the poor in their local communities and help to uplifted the more backward areas of the world. You will see almost as many free stores and other charities on the streets as actual businesses. The small scale of the charities makes them more reliable then OTL federal aid, while their numbers and ability to operate internationally without restriction because of the power of the church makes them more effective. All these factors mean that there is less disparity of wealth in this world, with nobody living in extreme poverty, or extreme opulence. Everything closes on Sunday.
Social Services
What we call Social Services in OTL are not really in evidence IN TTL. Between the thousands of Church charities, and thousands more private charities, no one lives in unfit conditions for long. The nuclear family is strongly supported by law, and by social and religious pressure. Families tend to live communally; several generations close together. Orphans are rare, since children rarely have no near relatives to claim them. When it does happen, the church-run orphanages are quick to place them in good homes, and as teenagers they are welcomed to join religious orders, which is also common. Church-sponsored community overwatch groups of various kinds, including regular home visits by the local ministers, mean that global spousal and child abuse are significantly lower than most countries in OTL.
Legal System
The legal systems of the world are strongly modeled on the biblical idea of justice. Secular states still employ the death penalty. The court system in the secular states is modeled primarily off of the Ecclesiastical Court System of the middle ages. In most cases, except for murder, treason, or a handful of other high crimes, defends are regarded as innocent until proven guilty. Trial is by judge in most places, though some have trial by jury. There are usually only two appeals, one to the equivalent of the district court, one to the supreme court.
However, secular government have very little power. The police force and investigators of the Church are much more pervasive and experienced. Within church territories, all crimes are tried by the Ecclesiastical Courts. In addition, any crimes involving church personnel, church property, or moral vice are arbitrated by the church, which leaves little for the secular states to handle. Most people would rather be tried by the church anyway. The Ecclesiastical justice system emphasizes repentance rather than punishment. Minor offenses are still punished with beatings and public humiliations of some kind. Instead of prisons, sentenced criminals are sent to fortified retreats where they live in austerity, and spend their days in an intense regimen of prayer and counselling from the brothers and priests. They are monitored, and not allowed to leave, nor is their life comfortable, but is much better than the jail (although, with the church's powerful and invasive prison ministries, jails are also less unpleasant than in OTL). Criminals with psychotic or sociopathic disorders, or other mental conditions that make them break the law are treated as dangerous patients rather than criminals. They are placed into isolated and fortified Hospices, where they are also monitored carefully and not allowed to leave during their treatment. There are no prison sentences. You are released when you are deemed cured/repentant. In the secular states, the death penalty is uniformly in place. The crime rate is exponentially lower than in OTL. In fact, the global crime rate is lower than most OTL countries. Because of the global attitude of social obedience and submission to God and his authorities in all things, there are no riots and few protests. People accept that their duty is to fight temptation, improve themselves, and serve their leaders and their God with all their mind and body. No-one would suggest that a person has a sovereign right over anything, not even their bodies. Any and all of that may be called on by God at need.
Technology
Civilian technology is nearly 100 year more advanced than OTL. This is largely due to the Renaissance lasting longer and the Enlightenment's rejection of the accumulated knowledge of the past being butterflied away. Leonardo di Vinci received much more support from the Papacy, which had already unified much of Northern Italy. Galileo was not censored, because without the Reformation and the resulting religious conflict his ideas were not politicized. Among other things, fusion technology has been perfected. Computers are much more intuitive and able to handle for more complex tasks. Nearly all disposable objects are bio-degradable, because of a strong push to protect the Environment. The internet exists, but all media is censured by the church, directly or indirectly, so that it does not advocate immorality in any form (similar to the Mauve Decade, and the Hollywood of the 1950s and 1960s, but extended to all media and the internet). Pornography and similar industries have gone completely underground and are almost stamped out. Apps and various online games exist, but not in nearly as much abundance as they do in OTL. The focus of research is serving humanity in the best way possible, not merely making a profit or finding new forms of entertainment. There is less variety in technology, but most practical devices are simpler and more efficient than in OTL. There is no artificial divide between what we would call in OTL the Supernatural and the Natural. All are considered part of the understanding of the universe, and studied with equal empiricism. It is no more unusual to see a demonologist at a hospital than a neurologist.
Brainpower is primarily concentrated in the Scholastic Orders of the church, such as the Society of Jesus and the School Sisters of Notre Dame, although universities and private scientific foundations still exist. All the monastic orders are, to one degree or another brain trusts. The monks dedicate they hours to worship, and productive service, and just like in the middle ages much of the productive activity is academic. In the Scholastic orders, a PHD is required in order to join. Theoretical science is focused on increasing our understanding of God's universe. The idea of universal physical laws is an accepted fact. Quantum physics have been largely discredited as a result (most physicists focus on finding consistent laws that can define the quantum world), and the theory of the universe coming into existence naturally never existed at all. The study of science is founded in the universal truth of God's ordered universe, and freed from the chains of fanatic Philosophic Naturalism. Physics, Biology, and many other areas of study are decades more advanced than in OTL, as a result of this, and as a result of the increased stability and lack of multiculturalism and politically motivated science.
Without the Cold War or the World Wars, some technology has been slowed. The first man did not land on the moon until 1992. The moon landing was a cooperative effort between several of the scholastic orders and some private, well-funded scientific foundations. It took longer, and was for the purpose of pure scientific exploration. The first man on the moon was a Jesuit priest, and when he raised a crucifix and looked out to the world, he said "How majestic are thy wonders O Lord."
