Why is the U.S. so religious?

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: 1,7, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Politikwissenschaft), course: Proseminar American Politics in Comparative and Historical Perspective, language: English, abstract: Summarizing, why the U.S. is so religious, it becomes clear that only one argument can not explain American religiousness today at a whole. America was founded by religious refugees and of course this has an impact on American culture today. Moreover America took a different way into modernity than Europe. As David Martin describes, European society was the first one who entered modernity. But of the cost of an alienation of church and religion on one side and society on the other side. State and religion also never became opponents and today one is considered to be a patriot, being religious. The American civil religion is probably the strongest argument, why America is so religious today and the competiveness of American churches explains the vital religious practice in the U.S. today. All in all it's the combination of these arguments that makes clear, why America is so religious today.