How Religious are those Vying for the Presidency?

Yet there are signs that religious faith is waning in the very nation those presidents once led. According to Gallup, 81 percent of adults in the U.S. now believe in God; that’s a drop of six percentage points from just six years ago. In fact, it’s the lowest recorded percentage since Gallup first offered the survey nearly 80 years ago. Other data reaches a similar conclusion. What do these numbers mean for those vying for the Oval Office right now? If the country is turning less religious, are the candidates too? Or does devoutness still equal votes? We looked at all the major candidates who’ve announced their run for the office and measured their past statements and publicly known religious practices, and consulted scholars on the topic of piety and the quest for presidential power. All to provide a glimpse of the ways faith factors into the contenders’ campaigns — and how it might factor into their would-be term or terms in office.