My conception of religious liberty was vague when I was younger, but as I got older and I became aware of the world around me, religious liberty has been a topic that everyone has been discussing - not only privately but also in public and especially in the papers. I used to be an uninformed protestant of the Lutheran church. I once read in the newspaper that Denmark is the least religious country in the world. When I compare my own country to the U.S, I do not have to have read books or taken lessons to know that America is a highly religious country, and has been since its earliest days. Furthermore, my notion of being "highly religious" was intensified when I spent a year in the U.S as an exchange student. I left my familiar fold and began exploring a (severely) religious life. .
I settled down in Oklahoma which is known to be one of the religious states in the "Bible Belt". Up to 60% of the population see themselves as being religious1, meaning they affiliate with a religion. Of those 60%, half of them are Baptists. From my time in Oklahoma, I learned that religion plays a huge part in the lives of the American people, at least for those living in Oklahoma. Families are affiliated with a certain church in their community and use the church greatly and widely for many things. These .
families' circle of acquaintances consists mainly of persons from the church and it is not unheard of that the families send their children to Sunday school before the actual worship session, then send them to youth group on Wednesdays and the adults themselves go to bible studies on Monday evenings, often hosted by one of the church members. .
Being a part - and an active part - of a church in today's America is as normal as drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. I experienced that my American friends invited me along to worship sessions at their own family church. I got to experience both Baptist churches along with Presbyterian churches not to mention my one visit to a Mormon church which basically scared me more than it enlightened me.
