"So far of 100 mapped, 75 should be on a watchlist," an official familiar with the project said.

Many of the Islamic centers are operating under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian government and U.S. front groups for the radical Muslim Brotherhood based in Egypt.

The industry has boomed since anti-usury laws were relaxed around the nation in the early 1980s. Today there are more than 24,000 payday outlets, a fivefold increase since 1995.

Six different alternatives were deemed by most adults to be "a complete and biblically valid way for someone who does NOT participate in services" of a traditional church, and yet still "experience and express their faith in God." For example, 89 percent support faith activities at home with one's family, 75 percent approve of house churches, and two-thirds support watching a religious TV program, listening to religious radio, or attending a Christian concert.

In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, a sly and subversive classic of secular humanism too often mistaken today for a mere lecture on the benefits of capitalism. In it, Smith said relatively little about religion and even less about the United States. Yet he managed to put his finger on the forces that are still shaping the role of religion in American politics today.