In America worship gets to a higher level (8)

I believe the answer is:

upraises

'gets to a higher level' is the definition.
(to upraise is to raise something up)

'in america worship' is the wordplay.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'america' becomes 'US' (United States).
'worship' becomes 'praise' (praise can mean worship or adoration).
'us' going around 'praise' is 'UPRAISES'.

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app