With the 2012 election less than six months away, congregations are getting the message that most Americans want to keep houses of worship to keep out of politics (54 percent feel that way), according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

"The biggest change we see is a drop-off in the percentage of people saying they hear politics from the pulpit," said David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame political scientist whose Faith Matters project tracked 3,100 people over five years.