Religion taking a backseat to the war and domestic issues, poll indicates.
A new survey out by the Pew Research Forum indicates that religion is not as strong of an issue in the upcoming presidential campaign season as are the Iraq war and domestic issues. According to the poll, the war in Iraq and economic issues are the highest ranking priorities to likely voters. Among white evangelicals, however, polling tracked higher for moral issues, such as abortion and gay rights. The candidates most widely perceived as religious, according to the poll, were Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. This is in contrast to previous election cycles, where the evangelical base was courted by the GOP.