Charles W. Colson, Watergate mastermind turned Evangelical leader, died of a brain hemorrhage on Saturday at the age of 80. Colson, special counsel to the Nixon Administration, served seven months for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal. But Colson emerged from prison a born-again Christian, promising to devote his life to religious activities. And though he may be remembered most for his role in Watergate, Tim Weiner, journalist and author of "Enemies: A History of the FBI," believes that Colson's true legacy might be his role in forging alliances between Evangelical Protestants and Catholics to create the religious wing of the Republican Party.

This seems to be the race of late deciders, sudden reversals, and surprising distractions. And perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was that it wasn't Rick Perry who dropped out of the race. Instead, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman will announce today that he is ending his candidacy and endorsing Romney.

After the Iowa caucuses, a group of high-profile conservatives sent out invitations to evangelical leaders for a gathering at the Texas ranch of Paul and Nancy Pressler on January 14 and 15. The summit's purpose is to discuss which GOP candidates they will and will not be supporting in 2012. Evangelicals have been the most significant segment of the Republican base since 1992, so whoever is chosen this weekend could nail the nomination — assuming that there is a candidate they feel represents their values. Despite winning New Hampshire and Iowa, Romney could be blocked due to his Mormonism and weak social conservatism.

Despite only carrying five percent of the vote in the GOP caucus, Michele Bachmann rallied a base of evangelical supporters and successfully cultivated an image of political outsider looking to clean up Washington. Now that she's out of the race, her supporters could widen the divide between GOP hopefuls. With two other candidates who are outspoken about their evangelical religious views and Paul's platform of returning to conservative ideals, there is no short supply of alternatives for former Bachmann-boosters.

After months of being written off as an un-electable candidate, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum nearly won Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses, losing to Mitt Romney by just eight votes. The Santorum surge, as it has come to be known, is credited largely to the Catholic candidate's strong support from evangelical Christians. CNN exit polling found that 34 percent self-identified evangelicals caucused for Santorum Tuesday, 19 percent supported Ron Paul, and that both Romney and Newt Gingrich took 14 percent of their votes.

With another stunning come from behind victory against the Bears last Sunday, the Tim Tebow train keeps rolling. The Denver Broncos’ quarterback has become a cultural phenomenon. But his on-field exploits only make up one part of the Tebow mystique. Tebow’s public displays of faith play a major role in the star athlete’s public persona and the narrative surrounding him.

America is the most religious industrialized country in the world, but a new survey finds that few Americans are well-informed when it comes to religion. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life called more than 3,4000 Americans and asked them to answer 32 questions about the Bible, Christianity and other world religions and leaders. The study found that most Americans answered around half the questions incorrectly. The people that scored highest were agnostics and atheists, with Jews and Mormons following closely behind.

Take the Pew quiz »

Since the start of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, neither BP nor politicians nor the smartest engineers and technicians in America have been able to cap the well and contain the damage.

Some Americans say we are looking to the wrong people for answers, and should instead be directing our requests to a higher power.

Yesterday marked the passing of well-known evangelist Oral Roberts; he was 91.  Oral Roberts made an indelible mark on evangelical Christianity, not only in his home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he erected his eponymous University, but around the world.

The Takeaway talks to Dr. Mark Rutland, the current President of Oral Roberts University, about the legacy Roberts leaves behind.

We begin a week-long series on faith in America with a conversation about pushing boundaries within religious traditions. Jay Bakker, son of 'televangelists' Jim and Tammy Faye, discusses his inclusive Revolution Church in Brooklyn and the effects becoming a gay-affirming pastor had on his ministry. And Joel Hunter, the evangelical head of the Northland Church, in Florida, explains why supporting environmental conservation and AIDS outreach are an essential part of being pro-life.