News

Poll of Americans: Better a Mormon than a Muslim in White House

Voters are more comfortable with President Obama’s religion—as long as he is not a Muslim.

Poll of Americans: Better a Mormon than a Muslim in White House

Poll of Americans: Better a Mormon than a Muslim in White House

Christianity Today July 26, 2012
Gage Skidmore/Flickr | The White House

Most Americans are comfortable with Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, but they appear more comfortable with President Obama’s religion—that is, unless they believe he’s a Muslim.

New findings suggest that Romney’s religion is unlikely to affect the election, according to a survey sponsored by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The vast majority of those who know Romney is a Mormon are either comfortable with Romney’s religion (60 percent) or say it does not matter (21 percent). Just one-fifth said they are uncomfortable with Romney’s Mormon religion.

Romney’s religion is unlikely to change any votes, but it may lower enthusiasm for his candidacy. More than 90 percent of Republican voters who know Romney is a Mormon say they will vote for him. Among Republicans who say they are uncomfortable with his religion, however, only one-fifth say they strongly support him. That support is half that of other GOP voters (42 percent strong support).

In a recent speech about the shooting victims in Colorado, Romney gave a rare nod to faith.

The public appears fairly comfortable with President Obama’s religion. But there is one major difference—the public’s comfort with Obama’s religion depends on whether they believe he is a Christian or a Muslim.

Just 12 percent of American voters say they are uncomfortable with Obama’s religion, half the level of discomfort with Romney’s Mormon faith. And while 21 percent said that Romney’s religion “doesn’t matter,” only six percent said Obama’s religion is irrelevant.

But the pattern changes for the 12 percent of voters who believe Obama is a Muslim. Only 26 percent of those who believe the President is a Muslim say that they are comfortable with Obama’s religion. Two-thirds of those who believe Obama is a Muslim said they are uncomfortable with his faith.

Belief that Obama is a Muslim is most common among conservative Republicans (one-third). The number has risen to twice the percentage from October 2008, when 16 percent of conservative Republicans said Obama was a Muslim. Of Romney supporters, 30 percent believe Obama is a Muslim, compared to only six percent of Obama supporters.

The Pew survey suggests that evangelicals hold some paradoxical views on Romney’s religion. Evangelicals are the most likely to say that it is important that the President hold strong religious beliefs (88 percent). Most evangelicals see the Mormon religion as “very different” from their own faith (63 percent). Unlike Mainline Protestants and Catholics, evangelicals are evenly split on whether Mormonism is a Christian religion. Yet, only one-fourth of evangelicals (23 percent) said they are “uncomfortable” with Romney’s religion, about the same as for the average voter (19 percent).

Only half of Americans know Romney’s religion. In an NBC Nightly News interview on Wednesday, Romney was asked if he was a “hidden man” because he does not talk about his family heritage because it involves Mormonism.

“I’m very proud of my heritage,” Romney said. “Without question, I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m proud of that. Some call that the Mormon Church, that’s fine with me. I’ll talk about my experiences in the church. There’s no question they’ve helped shape my perspective.”

Even if Romney were to speak more about his heritage and religion, the public may not hear him. More people know that Romney is a Mormon (51 percent) than know that Obama identifies himself regularly as a Christian (45 percent). Overall, 36 percent of the public says they “don’t know” the President’s religion (the same percentage that said they do not know about Romney’s).

The poll was sponsored by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey, conducted June 28 through July 9, interviewed 2,973 adults. Most of the results discussed in the report refer to registered voters only.

Our Latest

News

UK Regulators Investigate Barnabas Aid over Reports of Misused Funds

The charity is under an “unprecedented level of scrutiny on our financial processes” after founders and top leaders were suspended.

News

Gaza War Strains Bible Scholars’ Model of Christian Conversation

How Hamas’ October 7 terror attack and Israel’s response exhausted a group of evangelical Bible professors pursuing unity on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Being Human

The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss

Learning to identify reactivity in ourselves and others.

News

Gordon Students Count Cells, Hoping to Unlock Cancer Mysteries

Cutting-edge microscopy research could explain why some get sick while others don’t.

News

Chinese Christians Want the Church to Adopt Children with Disabilities

After China banned international adoptions, some believers want the Chinese church to step up.

News

Global Methodist Bishops to Dance

The new denomination tussles over its authority structure—but also finds surprising points of unity. 

Excerpt

The Chinese Christian Who Helped Overcome Illiteracy in Asia

Yan Yangchu taught thousands of peasants to read and write in the early 20th century.

The Bulletin

A Brief Word from Our Sponsor

The Bulletin recaps the 2024 vice presidential debate, discusses global religious persecution, and explores the dynamics of celebrity Christianity.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube