PRINCETON, NJ -- According to recent Gallup research, religion remains a powerful predictor of registered voters' likely voting intentions for the upcoming midterm elections.

• The one-third of registered voters who are white and attend church frequently are more likely to vote Republican in the midterm election, by a 24-point margin (58% to 34%).
• The half of the registered voter population who are white but who don't attend church frequently have significantly different vote intentions; they're more likely to vote Democratic by a 17-point margin (54% to 37%).

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, half of all Americans said their faith helped them cope with the shock and uncertainty.

• The change most widely reported was a significant spike in church attendance, with some churches experiencing more than double their normal crowd on the Sunday after the shocking event.
• However, by the time January 2002 rolled around, churchgoing was back to pre-attack levels, and has remained consistent in the five years since.
• As of October 2001, Americans’ engagement in Bible reading and prayer was no different than pre-attack levels and has been essentially consistent from that point on.

Research conducted for Facts & Trends magazine uncovered just how involved Protestant churches are with key issues such as politics, personal finances, and evangelism, according to the clergy who minister in those churches, and the lay people who attend them.  Out of all these 11 issues, the only two in which a majority of ministers say their church is very involved are study of the Bible and personal morality (defined as helping individuals live according to God's plan).

• Seventy-six percent of all clergy believe their church is very involved in study of the Bible, 21 percent are somewhat involved, and 3 percent are not very involved.
• Less than 1 percent say their church actively avoids involvement in study of the Bible.
• For personal morality, 62 percent of all clergy say their church is very involved, 30 percent somewhat involved, and 7 percent not very involved, while 1 percent actively avoid this issue.