The Seventh-day Adventist Church counts more than 18 million members globally and 1.2 million in North America, but some skeptics see it as a sect out of touch with mainstream Christianity. While the church avoids involvement in politics, Mr. Carson’s emergence as a prominent political figure has presented an opportunity for it to gain credibility.

“We do not endorse any candidates, and we do not use our church for political reasons,” Alex Bryant, the secretary of the North American division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said of Mr. Carson’s candidacy. “But we do look at it as an opportunity to tell the world, tell this country about Seventh-day Adventism, our beliefs and our desire to lift up Jesus Christ.”

A twice-baptized Adventist, Mr. Carson has become one of the church’s biggest stars. In his autobiography, “Gifted Hands,” he recounts his mother’s conversion, which began in the ward of a mental hospital.

It was not until he was 14 that Mr. Carson became truly captured by his faith. Known for having a temper back then, the young Mr. Carson let a petty dispute turn into a tantrum that ended with his knifing a friend. The episode could have been deadly had it not been for a belt buckle that blocked his blade. From that time on, Mr. Carson prayed away his anger.

“My temper will never control me again,” Mr. Carson wrote in his book. “Never again. I’m free.”

Mr. Carson, who declined to be interviewed for this article, attends church regularly and taught Bible school at his Seventh-day Adventist church in Maryland. Now that he is a politician, he speaks often about the role that God has played in his life, but he has tended to vary discussion of his religious beliefs depending on the venue.

During a 1999 interview with the Religion News Service, Mr. Carson said he was happy to attend other kinds of churches. “I spend just as much time in non-Seventh-day Adventist churches because I’m not convinced that the denomination is the most important thing,” he said. “I think it’s the relationship with God that’s most important.”