Will the circle be unbroken?

One of the most important observations about contemporary politics — at least on the presidential level — is the importance of religion in determing voters’ preferences.

Tell me if a voter goes to church, consultants say, and I’ll tell you if he or she is a Republican or Democratic vote.

There’s more evidence of that today.

Gallup is out with a poll examining “religiousness” in all 50 states. Click

here

for the results.

Then click

here

for the results of the 2012 election.

Of the top 19 most-religious states, all —

.

Of the 14 least-religious states, all —

— supported Obama.

Like all polls, this one might be flawed. And like all studies, it’s hard to know the difference because cause and correlation: we don’t know if religious people voted for Romney because they’re religious, or because they happen to live in states that are religious.

But it reinforces the convention wisdom: in general, religious voters lean Republican, non-religious voters lean Democratic.

This story was originally published February 3, 2014 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Will the circle be unbroken?."