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(RNS) — In the Democrats’ historic midterm victory, Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated were key players as Republicans lost ground among most major religious groups, according to exit polls from both NBC News and CNN .

Political scientists and religious scholars said that while faith convictions may have played a role in the shift, economic challenges were likely the biggest factor.

“I don’t particularly think it was a religious election,” political scientist and researcher Ryan Burge told RNS.…