American Churches

Lots of Americans go to church on a regular basis. It's far more common than in the UK. However, churches are much more than places of worship, a lot of social life revolves around the church. You'll meet people (well, probably) who met their spouses or partners, because they went to the same church.

An implication of this is not to say anything rude or jovial about religion, or religious people. You're much more likely to offend someone (even someone you really weren't expecting to offend).

There's an interesting section in the book The Audacity of Hope (see further reading at the end) where the author describes his reasons for his baptism into his church. It wasn't about wanting to be saved, it was more about wanting to hang out and be a part of that group of people.