(RNS) Ever since President Obama won re-election, more than 700,000 Americans have petitioned the White House to let their respective states secede. Observers say those leading the charge are framing it in terms that suggest a deep-seated religious impulse for purity-through-separation is flaring up once again. This time, it’s playing out on a political stage. By G. Jeffrey MacDonald.

 WASHINGTON (RNS) From this election forward, candidates won't be able to win the White House by relying on the white Christian vote, according to a new report. By Lauren Markoe. 

(RNS) The "nones'' made their presence felt in this election, with some 70 percent of the religiously unaffiliated voting for President Obama, according to exit polls. What do the political parties have to do to reach and keep these voters? By Kimberly Winston.

Our resident religion & politics guru Mark Silk assesses the religious layout of 12 battleground states - and explains why religion will matter on Election Day.

NEW YORK (RNS) Switching from jabs to jokes, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney set aside an evening between debates to make fun of themselves and each other during one of the few other campaign rituals that brings the candidates together on stage. By Martha T. Moore. 

(RNS) The Romney-Ryan ticket is the first Republican presidential campaign in history without a Protestant candidate, but that hasn't deterred evangelicals from launching massive get-out-the-vote and registration efforts to help win back the White House. By Jackie Kucinich/USA Today. 

NEW YORK (RNS) A year ago, the Rev. Frank Pavone was facing an existential crisis. Confined to a convent in Texas, the longtime anti-abortion activist was fighting accusations of financial mismanagement. Now Pavone is back with a new mission: defeating Barack Obama and making Priests for Life answerable only to Rome. By David Gibson.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (RNS) Law enforcement is teaming up with faith groups to combat sex trafficking around the country, with some calling it the newest ``Christian abolitionist movement.'' By Amanda Greene. 850.

(RNS) African-American clergy are joining forces with civil rights groups to push for increased voter registration ahead of the November election, spurred on by new voter laws they say restrict opportunities for minorities to enter the voting booth. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) It would be an error to underestimate or write off the Protestant influence in the American political arena. But with the rapid demographic and sociological changes now underway, get ready for Hindus, Jews, Hispanics, Buddhists, Muslims, gays, women, atheists and many other groups to head up future presidential tickets. By A. James Rudin.

(RNS) President Obama's support for gay marriage has put some black clergy in a bind, torn between their political loyalties and their religious beliefs. By Adelle M. Banks.

NEW YORK (RNS) The Al Smith Dinner has always provided a few hours of comic relief from the angry volleys of the campaign battlefield. But New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's invitation to President Obama is angering pro-lifers and giving the archbishop some pre-dinner agita. By David Gibson.

JERUSALEM (RNS) Despite international pressure -- including support from both U.S. presidential candidates -- the International Olympic Committee has refused to include a moment of silence at Friday's opening ceremony to honor Israeli athletes killed by terrorists at the games 40 years ago. By Michele Chabin.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) As Americans celebrate the nation's founding, some Mormons may outdo their neighbors this week in fireworks, fanfare and frenzy to express their outsized patriotism. Other Mormons caution against linking political perspectives on American exceptionalism to specific theology or teachings. Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) Nearly one in five Americans would not vote for a Mormon president, a percentage that has barely budged since 1967, according to Gallup pollsters. By Daniel Burke.