Yep. They are directly linked, especially in the bible belt for obvious reasons... Any POTUS basically has to proclaim their Christian faith to somehow prove that they have family values or some BS. I have a feeling with religion on the down-tick that this will become less common (hopefully).
And hopefully someday the $71,000,000,000 of annual religious tax exemptions in the US can go back into the country and maybe, just maybe do some actual good. Maybe even tax deductions for middle/lower class.