WASHINGTON (RNS) After nearly four years in the Oval Office, President Obama is wrongly thought to be Muslim by one in six American voters, and only 1 in 4 can correctly identify him as Protestant, according to a new poll. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition is trying to corral "NASCAR Christians'' in hopes that they will give Mitt Romney a critical boost in November. By David Gibson.

(RNS) New York Times columnist Ross Douthat doesn't mince words in his new book "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics."  In an interview with Religion News Service, Douthat explains his definition of heresy, why he thinks Mitt Romney and President Obama are both heretics, and why more Americans should argue about religion. By Daniel Burke.

(RNS) With Mitt Romney on the verge of becoming the first Mormon to head a major party presidential ticket, is it as pivotal as John F. Kennedy's win as the first Catholic president? Or is he more like Al Smith? By David Gibson.

WASHINGTON (RNS) As the seventh Latter-day Saint to attempt a presidential bid, Mitt Romney is on the cusp of becoming the first Mormon to carry the banner of a major party in a general election. By Thomas Burr and Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) While Mitt Romney was building his career at Bain Capital, he was also a Mormon bishop who had to learn how to give sermons, advise squabbling couples, organize worship services, manage budgets and address the needs of more than 1,000 Mormons in the region. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) We have seen ourselves up close and decided we can do better. Pouring a lifetime of earnings into showy living becomes embarrassing. Turning religion into shouting matches and rampant bigotry doesn't pass any gospel sniff test. By Tom Ehrich.

(RNS) Does Rick Santorum's surge also mark the resurrection of the Religious Right? After Santorum's big primary wins in Alabama and Mississippi, the born-again bigwigs who endorsed him last year may be having the last laugh. By David Gibson.

(RNS) A new analysis shows Mitt Romney trouncing Rick Santorum among Catholic voters, but evangelicals have yet to embrace him. By Daniel Burke.

WASHINGTON (RNS) As Mitt Romney presses his White House bid, many Americans don't realize that his Mormon faith played an important role as foil in the early days of the GOP, and how its first candidates won by whipping up anti-Mormon sentiments. By Thomas Burr.

(RNS) Evangelicals are all over the news, but just who are these Christians? "Actually, that's a question, I'd like to ask somebody, too," evangelist Billy Graham once said. Here's a primer about these religious types, their history, faith and politics. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

Rick Santorum may be up...again. Thanks to evangelicals. Rabbi Boteach may run for Congress. Rick Warren is slimming. Prop 8 is hanging fire. More women priests in the C of E than men. But as bishops? Usury is still a sin, and The Onion is still satire.

Embattled Atlanta pastor Eddie Long gets some supernatural protection from a Holocaust Torah scroll, while two men claim supernatural release from demons when the pope walked into the room.

WASHINGTON (RNS) In a matchup between Obama and GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, mainline Protestant voters are nearly evenly divided, with 41 percent supporting Obama and 43 percent for Romney. The same holds true between Obama and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- each is the choice of 41 percent of white mainline Protestants. By Lauren Markoe.