I spent much of the past week on a Caribbean cruise, enjoying a vacation with my family.

Upon my return to the U.S., I discovered that — surprise! — a major election is fast approaching. Who knew?

Seriously, the 2022 midterms are next week, and once again, religion has emerged as a major factor.

Ahead of Election Day, here are five key faith-and-politics storylines:

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Georgia on my mind: A closely watched U.S. Senate race pits Republican Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner urged to run by former President Donald Trump, against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock, who balances time in Washington with his role as a senior pastor in Atlanta.

Related headlines:

• Amid scandals, Herschel Walker hopes voters ‘believe in redemption’ (by Mary Jordan, Washington Post)

• The senator-pastor from Georgia mixes politics and preaching on the trail (by Maya King, New York Times)

• 6 midterm election races where religion could play a major factor (by Deborah Laker, ReligionUnplugged.com)

• Black church tradition survives Georgia’s voting changes (by Sudhin Thanawala and Gary Fields, Associated Press)

• Georgia pastor slams GOP nominee Herschel Walker in fiery sermon: 'We don't need a walker' (by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today)

2. ‘We need to make America Godly again’: CNN’s Nicole Chavez reports on “the growing political influence of Latino evangelicals.”

At Religion News Service, Alejandra Molina explores the central role of faith in Republican efforts to win Latino votes.

At ReligionUnplugged.com, Laura E. Alexander and Cristian Doña-Reveco caution that there’s no one “Latino vote” as religion and geography add to voter diversity.

3. Unchecked partisanship by houses of worship: Churches are breaking the law by making endorsements in elections, and the IRS is looking the other way, Jeremy Schwartz and Jessica Priest report for ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.

Meanwhile, more Americans want their church to share their politics, and over half say they believe their congregation is politically unified already, according to Lifeway Research’s Aaron Earls.

By the way, did you know that 20% of the nation’s polling places are in churches? Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman figured that out by going through a list of 60,000 polling places by hand. Really.

4. The United States of Christianity?: The Tennessean’s Liam Adams delves into what Tennessee’s politics say about the rise of Christian nationalism in the U.S.

Related headlines:

• Right-wing roadshow promotes Christian nationalism before midterms (by Annie Gowen, Washington Post)

• A conservative scholar looks to define — and defeat — 'Christian nationalism' (by Jon Ward, Yahoo! News)

• Columnist Rod Dreher talks Orthodox Christianity and nationalism (by Jovan Tripkovic, ReligionUnplugged.com)

• Major Christian leaders asked Jan. 6 committee to investigate Christian nationalism (by Jack Jenkins and Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)

• Talk of ‘Christian nationalism’ is getting a lot louder — but what does the term really mean? (by Eric McDaniel, The Conversation)

CONTINUE READING: “Faith And Politics: 5 Key Religion Storylines In The 2022 Midterm Elections” by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.