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Long-held assumptions about religious activists on the left and right have been confirmed in a new 40-page report issued in mid-September: the only thing both sides seem to have in common is that faith is a big part of their lives—bigger than among the general public.

Beyond that, the two poles differ dramatically on political priorities and biblical interpretation.

If you’re a male evangelical who reads the Bible literally and views fighting abortion and same-sex marriage as the top political priorities, you’re more likely to be a conservative religious activist.

Health-care reform may be Priority No. 1 in Congress and at the White House, but for the 1,825 religious conservatives who gathered in Washington for the annual Values Voter Summit in September, the subject was barely on their radar screen.

“To me, there are so many more important issues than health care right now,” said John Leaman, a retired yacht builder from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Added his wife, Linda, a waitress: “I don’t think it’s as urgent as Obama’s making it out to be.” The real problem, she said, is illegal immigrants “cluttering up our emergency rooms.”

Key conservative Christian leaders made dozens of visits to the White House during President George W. Bush’s administration, a watchdog group announced.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had sought the records for years.

“Newly disclosed Bush-era White House visitor records suggest leading conservative Christian leaders may have had a significant voice in President Bush’s administration, and many seem to have had the ear of the president himself,” CREW said in a September 4 news release.

"Now Watergate does not bother me,” sang Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant in the unofficial Alabama state anthem, “Does your conscience bother you?” When the Watergate break-in turned into a presidency-threatening scandal in 1973, it clearly bothered Billy Graham’s conscience. Condemned as a “court prophet” and criticized as a Republican stooge, Graham regretted his political alliance with Richard Nixon.