For headline writers, 2004 was the year of "values voters," stormy acts of God, gay-marriage rites and countless clashes between "believers" and "infidels" in Iraq, Russia, Spain and elsewhere.

This may sound like the annual list of the top 10 news events released by the Religion Newswriters Association. But no, these events dominated the 2004 Associated Press survey of the top stories in the world — period.

In a typical year, at least half of the world's top news stories have a strong religious element. But it was next to impossible to find a major news story in 2004 that didn't raise faith questions of one kind or another. It was just that kind of year on the religion beat.

Thus, it was no surprise that the re-election of President Bush was voted No. 1 in both the AP and the RNA surveys. But the religion-news specialists decided that another story was just as hot as the White House race. The release of "The Passion of the Christ" tied for the top spot, and director Mel Gibson was named Religion Newsmaker of the Year, with Bush coming in second.

Truth is these faith-based stories had much in common, according to Frank Rich of The New York Times, one of the cultural-left critics who fueled the firestorm that enveloped Gibson and his film.

This was the year of the angry fundamentalist in politics, war and pop culture, he said.

"The power of this minority within the Christian majority comes from its exaggerated claims on the Bush election victory," argued Rich in an essay titled "2004: The Year of 'The Passion.' "

"It is further enhanced by a news culture . . . that gives the Mel Gibson wing of Christianity more say than other Christian voices and usually ignores minority religions altogether. . . . In the electronic news sphere where most Americans live much of the time, anyone who refuses to engage in combat is quickly sent packing as a bore."

Cultural conservatives would, of course, disagree with Rich's claim that they were uniquely to blame for the acidic atmosphere that surrounded the White House race and the smashing box-office success of Gibson's epic exercise in sacramental symbolism and bloody special effects. After all, culture wars require at least two armies. One thing is certain: Preachers on the religious and secular left are sure to turn up the volume in 2005.

Here are the rest of the RNA poll's top 10 stories:

3. Gay marriages are performed for the first time in Massachusetts, but the legal status of the rites remained uncertain. Religious groups mobilize on both sides, as 11 states pass amendments against the redefinition of marriage.