On developments in religion and politics in 2005:

1) The death of John Paul II and the elevation of Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy, virtually assuring that the Roman Catholic Church will continue its conservative trajectory.

2) The "intelligent design" trial in Dover, Pennsylvania.This movement of "stealth creationism" illustrates the determination of the Religious Right to exert a powerful influence on the curricula of public schools.

3) Billy Graham's final crusade in New York City in June, bringing him back to where it all began. His storied, nine-week Madison Square Garden crusade in 1957 solidified his place as a media star for evangelicalism while also earning him the enmity of fundamentalists, who never forgave him for cooperating with the city's mainline Ministerial Alliance. It marked the moment when Graham finally broke decisively with the separatist and sectarian fundamentalists.

What's ahead?

1) The influence of the Religious Right will wane slightly, reflecting the declining fortunes of the Republican Party, which, amid growing ethical scandals and in the face of an increasingly unpopular war, is likely to suffer losses in the midterm elections.

2) Kenneth Blackwell will win the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio. Many analysts believe he assisted George W. Bush in carrying the state in 2004. Blackwell, an African-American with close ties to the Religious Right, has assiduously courted politically conservative evangelicals, who remain a potent constituency in Ohio.

3) The intelligent-design curriculum in Dover, Pennsylvania, will be recognized by the court for what it is: an unconstitutional attempt to propagate religious beliefs in public schools. This will spur the intelligent design theorists to reformulate their creationist schemes in an effort to curry favor with the increasingly conservative judiciary.