Only God Knows for Sure.

Apparently, political adversity in New Jersey gives you religion ----whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat.

Take Republican Jim Treffinger, for instance.

The former Essex County Executive was all set to run for the Senate against Senator Bob Torricelli, when BAM! –he was sentenced to federal prison on corruption charges.

According to the Star-Ledger – “Treffinger, 57, was a rising star in Republican politics and the favorite to win his party's nomination for a U.S. Senate seat when federal authorities raided his Newark office in 2002. The former Fulbright scholar and popular Verona mayor dropped out of the race four days later. He ultimately admitted he put two campaign staffers on the county payroll and obstructed the federal probe.”

Then, he had an epiphany and got religion. He will graduate with a degree in divinity in 2009 from the Princeton Theological Seminar. "When you lose a lot of things, you have a whole re-evaluation of what is the meaning of your life," said Treffinger.

And, of course, there’s former Democratic governor Jim McGreevey. Last spring, McGreevey started down the path to become an Episcopal priest and was accepted into a three-year seminary Master of Divinity program at Manhattan's General Theological Seminary.

Now, if you’re a former TV star from Saturday Night Live who played a character whose gender was somewhat undecipherable, you become an atheist. In her solo show, “Letting Go of God,” Julia Sweeney traces her journey away from religious faith to becoming an atheist.

As far as I know, Sweeney has never held office in New Jersey nor does she have plans to.