* Religion and the Presidential Candidates Recent news stories have highlighted once again the religious orientation of the major presidential candidates. George W. Bush reportedly conferred with pastors before running for president, asked for advice from television evangelist James Robinson before the third presidential debate, and has been reading the "one-year" Bible, a daily excerpt that can be read in a few minutes. Al Gore professes to be a "born-again" Christian, links his views of ecology and social justice to his religious beliefs, and during his Senate years was part of a prayer group that read the Bible together. Gallup polls show that in general Americans tend to be very religious, with about six in 10 saying religion is "very" important in their lives, and another three in 10 saying religion is "fairly" important. Six of 10 Americans say they read the Bible at least occasionally, with almost four in 10 (37%) saying they read it at least once a week or more frequently. One in six (16%) say they read the Bible daily, about the same number as those who say they are currently in a Bible study group (14%). Almost two-thirds of Americans (65%) say the Bible answers all or most all of the basic questions in life.