Tim Tebow, kind of religious. Were you aware of this? The Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback’s Christian faith has inspired many headlines and much debate and, now, it’s the subject of a new ad from the American evangelical Christian non-profit Focus on the Family. The commercial focuses specifically on one of Tebow’s favorite Biblical verses, John 3:16. (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”)

Have we not reached a place free of this yet? For some reason, George Stephanopoulos decided to talk about the notoriously Christian NFL player Tim Tebow on This Week today. He asked George Will how Tebow has become such a polarizing figure in not just sports, but somehow in politics as well. Will called Tebow “an exemplary gentleman” and said he was undeserving of the attacks against him.

Tim Tebow is a football player very well-known for his Christian beliefs. And recently, he has begun to get some flack in the media for silent prayers after scoring a touchdown and for other public displays of his faith. You’ll recall that he filmed an ad for Focus on the Family that took a very powerful stand against abortion that aired during the Super Bowl. On Reliable Sources today, Howard Kurtz examined media coverage of Tebow and how much of it was being influenced by religion as opposed to sports.

Rick Perry is trying to revive an otherwise moribund campaign by touting his religious credentials– which, against Newt Gingrich (Catholic of questionable marital history) and Mitt Romney (Mormon of otherwise squeaky-clean marital history), may be his last hope. One entity, according to Funny or Die, that is not happy to have been involuntarily dragged into Perry’s anti-gay, hyper-religious politics? Jesus Himself, who kindly requested to be kept out of politics, please.

“Time for the traditional, true story of Thanksgiving,” Rush Limbaugh announced. “Written by me!” In other words: TIME FOR A MOTHERF$%#ING TREAT!

Limbaugh recounted the story of religious separatists who journeyed to the New World in search of the freedom to worship as they saw fit without fear of persecution. They faced many challenges and hardships in their new home, but eventually benefited from agricultural practices shared by local Indians.

“So, is it a holy war that is being waged in our nation’s capital?” That’s a question Sean Hannity and his panelists attempted to answer Thursday night on Fox News. Muslim students attending DC’s Catholic University of America have claimed that their human rights are being violated by the school because it has refused to provide a space — free of Catholic iconography and paraphernalia — in which its Muslim students can practice their daily prayers.

As a bookend to his top-of-the-show interview with Robert Jeffress, Bill Maher simultaneously bashed Mormonism for promoting cult-like beliefs while acknowledging that Mormonism is just as radical a belief as any other mainstream religion. Maher used the opportunity to suggest that candidates like Mitt Romney should be asked about their religious beliefs because a president’s faith definitely influences their decision-making process. How screwed up does Maher think Mormonism is? “Tom Cruise would not join it, and Glenn Beck did.”

The first guest on Real Time with Bill Maher tonight was none other than Pastor Robert Jeffress, who caught a lot of flack after telling reporters at the Values Voters Summit that Mormonism is a “cult” and shared his reservations about voting for Mitt Romney. On Real Time, Jeffress sat down for a surprisingly cordial interview with Maher, which addressed not just Jeffress’ comments, but also Maher’s personal religious skepticism.

Rick Perry‘s wife Anita Perry addressed supporters at North Greenville University on Thursday and slammed criticism by the press and GOP. “We are being brutalized by our opponents in our own party,” Perry fretted. “So much of that is, I think they look at him because of his faith.”

Laura Ingraham sat in for Bill O’Reilly last night on The Factor, where she spoke with political analyst and former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to George W. Bush Karl Rove about a topic that’s been the subject of many headlines over the years, and this week in particular: “The politics of Mormonism.”

Pastor Robert Jeffress is getting his 15 minutes of fame this weekend after publicly declaring that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was a non-Christian “cult” and getting the pleasure of introducing Rick Perry at a speaking engagement. After his initial comment, Jeffress went on Anderson Cooper 360º and made some eyebrow-raising comments about President Obama’s “purported” religion. Today he returned to CNN once more, answering in the affirmative when asked if religion should trump competence in elections.

Mike Huckabee‘s weekly round at Fox & Friends this morning was far more somber than usual, as the topic of discussion naturally gravitated towards the September 11th attacks and the ceremony planned for tomorrow. Huckabee took offense at the secular nature of the ceremony, arguing that it was not “the politicians [who] were the heroes of 9/11,” but the clergy, and that anyone who would protest Muslim clerics at such a ceremony would be “inappropriate” and “ridiculous.”

Former Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R-De) demanded an apology from MSNBC’s Chris Matthews via Twitter Thursday morning over comments the Hardball host made during MSNBC’s post-debate wrap-up. “Chris Matthews owes Bible belt an apology for elitist, rude remark about low IQ’s,” O’Donnell tweeted, adding, “Hannity would’ve been fired if he said it!”

Matthews did, indeed, mention Bible Belt voters and “minimal IQ levels,” but a review of the clip in question suggests O’Donnell’s anger might be misplaced.

New York Times editor Bill Keller‘s column on religion didn’t go unnoticed by “culture warrior” Bill O’Reilly on his program today, but after a segment decrying its arrogance, O’Reilly came face to face with a guest that “totally agreed” with Keller that religious ignorance should come into play in politics. Somewhat shockingly, it was media critic Bernie Goldberg, who used Keller’s logic to justify the outrage against Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller‘s column for this week’s Sunday Times magazine, “Asking Candidates Tougher Questions About Faith,” is getting angrier buzz than a beehive at a piñata party. Most of the outrage centers on Keller’s clunky comparison of religion with a belief in space aliens, and the sense that he’s picking on Republicans. What does the Bible say about all of this, are candidates’ religious views fair game, and is Keller’s column just another excuse to highlight Mitt Romney‘s Mormonism?

Randy Roberts Potts appeared on HLN last night to talk about coming out as a gay man, being a grandson of the late evangelist Oral Roberts.

Washington Examiner columnist got a fair deal of pushback for asking Rep. Michele Bachmann whether, as President, she would be submissive to her husband, as per an answer to questions she had given in the past. And Fox News media analyst Bernie Goldberg would typically be one to partake in challenging the media for inappropriate questioning, but this time, he was on York’s side, calling Rep. Bachmann a “hack” for “weaseling out” of the question and claiming “submission” was synonymous with “respect.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s much talked about religious event “The Response” finally took place today, and as promised the potential Republican presidential candidate abstained from talking politics. Instead, Gov. Perry stood up to read scripture, mostly, and give a prayer for the American government and ask for forgiveness, because “we have forgotten who made us.”

If the 2008 elections left one indelible mark in the way Presidential politics functions in this country, it is that opponents will forever attempt to link candidates to unsavory religious characters. On last night’s The Last Word, Lawrence O’Donnell didn’t have to look too far down the guest list to find in Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s religious event “The Response” a controversial figure: Pastor John Hagee, most widely known for almost undoing the McCain-Palin campaign with his extreme religious rhetoric.

Rep. Michele Bachmann has surged to the status of a frontrunner in the first primary state of Iowa, and now faces the general election hurdle of her opposition to gay rights being a hallmark of her campaign. This could be fatal to her election chances, John Heilmann argued on The Chris Matthews show today, as it is “anti-Obama animus” that fuels Republican voters nationally, and any sign that independents won’t run to her will weaken her changes at the nomination.

The Daily Beast’s Michelle Goldberg offers a fascinating look into GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann‘s religious beliefs, particularly how they play into her views on homosexuality in general and same-sex marriage in particular. Bachmann has experienced a bump in support in the wake of her participation in this week’s Republican debates, confirming her place as a serious contender for the GOP nomination. While Bachmann has been the focus of a whole mess o’ media attention during her career, much of it has focused on her… unique… take on historical events and her physical attributes rather than on specific policies or beliefs, so it’s worth it to try and understand just where the Congresswoman stands.

In the Minnesota House Friday morning, an anti-gay pastor Bradlee Dean opened the legislative session at the invitation of Republican representative Ernie Leidiger. Dean concluded his prayer with a random, not so veiled shot at President Obama and his religion.

Predictions of tomorrow’s Rapture — those specifically originating from an 89-year old California based preacher who has only been wrong about the world ending once before!) — could be a really good thing for Atheists. No, I’m not just talking about them being a boon for snarky jokes on Twitter and Reddit. I mean that this could be a perfect opportunity for Atheists, one of the most hated minorities in America, to show that you don’t need God to be a good person.

Rev. Franklin Graham has somehow become a media celebrity on the back of his doubts that President Obama is truly Christian. Graham visited Bill O’Reilly today to confirm his distaste for the President, but the conversation took a bizarre term when O’Reilly decided to grill Graham on Heaven, Hell, and the admission process for each, particularly for Holocaust victims and children.

On America Live this afternoon, interim host Martha MacCallum discussed what she referred to as Lady Gaga’s “latest stop on the blasphemy train:” Basically, the singer chose Holy Week – as in, the single holiest week for many Christians – to release a song ostensibly about her love for Judas, the apostle who turned Jesus over to authorities to eventually be crucified.