JELEN, Ted G. <br/><br/>
The constitutional basis of religious pluralism in the United States :  causes and consequences 

 - Thousand Oaks :  SAGE,  July 2007 
<br/><br/> In this article, the author attempts to show how provisions in the US Constitution enhance religious pluralism in the United States. Furthermore, religious pluralism arguably leads to religious vitality, which has a number of consequences for public life in the United States. Religion in the United States serves as a source of social capital, as a check against the conformist tendencies of US public opinion; religious pluralism ameliorates the tendency to identify the nation with a particular set of religious traditions. The presence of religious ideas in public discourse also may render religious values less particularistic and more publicly accessible.