In the nineteenth century, the churches of North America experienced a tremendous upswing. European observers who reported on this agreed that the strict observance of the Sabbath, the countless churches and religious schools, the many Bible societies and charitable church associations, the general participation in worship and the everyday practice in families testified to a Christian character of American society, which was comparable to that of European states. However, they also described differences because of the mistrust of rank and privileges in society, which determined the democratization of political and social life after the American Revolution, which also influenced the understanding of religion.