There was little or no debate about the election or the candidates in America's Christian houses of worship, according to a new survey.

What little there was, tended to be in Catholic churches.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects the right of churches and religious organisations to engage in political activity.

But preachers who endorse political candidates have risked losing their church's tax exempt status since 1954 when what is known as the Johnson Amendment was introduced. This changed the internal revenue code to restrict the political activities of religious groups and non-profits.

President-Elect Donald Trump has pledged to repeal the amendment, or to exempt religious non-profits, and this pledge is thought to have been influential in persuading some evangelicals to vote for him.

Jessica Martínez writing for Pew Research says that just 14 per cent of voters who worship monthly reported information on the election or candidates being made available. Just five per cent say they were encouraged to vote in a particular way by clergy.

Of those who were advised to vote in a particular way, the advice was split 50-50. Two per cent said they were encouraged to vote for Republican candidates and two per cent for Democratic candidates. 

Among Catholics, it was higher with one-fifth finding information about the election at church.

The figures were similar in 2008 and 2012.

The Washington Times reports a poll indicating that of all the journalists and commentators covering the election, Rush Limbaugh was the most influential in terms of helping Trump to victory.

As an example of his writing, his latest transcript is headlined: "The Trump Years Will Be a Constant Battle with the Media, the Left – and Their Special-Kind-of-Stupid Followers."

All the top five commentators named as most influential supported the candidacy of Trump, although not all of them endorsed him directly.

The poll was carried out by the American Culture and Faith Institute and involved a survey of 3,000 adults.