Only About Half Identify Obama as Christian 

Washington,D.C. – Mostvoters continue to say it is important for a president to have strong religiousbeliefs. But voters have limited awareness of the religious faiths of both MittRomney and Barack Obama. And there is little evidence to suggest that concernsabout the candidates’ respective faiths will have a meaningful impact in thefall elections.

The latest nationalsurvey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life and thePew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted June 28-July 9,2012 among 2,973 adults, including 2,373 registered voters, finds that 60% ofvoters are aware that Romney is Mormon, virtually unchanged from four monthsago, during the GOP primaries.

The vast majorityof those who are aware of Romney’s faith say it doesn’t concern them. Fullyeight-in-ten voters who know Romney is Mormon say they are either comfortablewith his faith (60%) or that it doesn’t matter to them (21%).

The new survey onreligion and politics also finds that nearly four years into his presidency theview that Barack Obama is Muslim persists. Currently, 17% of registered voterssay that Obama is Muslim; 49% say he is Christian, while 31% say they do notknow Obama’s religion. The percentage of voters identifying Obama’s religion asChristian has increased since August 2010, from 38% to 49%, while there hasbeen little change in the percentage saying he is Muslim (19% then, 17% today).Still, fewer say Obama is Christian – and more say he is Muslim – than did soin October 2008, near the end of the last presidential campaign. The increasesince 2008 is particularly concentrated among conservative Republicans, about athird of whom (34%) describe the president as a Muslim.

Overall, 45% ofvoters say they are comfortable with Obama’s religion, while 19% areuncomfortable. Among those who say Obama is Christian, 82% arecomfortable with Obama’s religious beliefs. Among those who describe him as a Muslim, just 26% are comfortable with his beliefs.

Among the key findingsof the new survey:

• Romney’s Religion Not Costing HimSupport.Overwhelming majorities of Republican and Republican-leaning voters who knowRomney is Mormon support him, whether they are comfortable with his religion ornot. However, Romney supporters who are uncomfortable with his Mormonism areless enthusiastic about his candidacy than those who are not bothered by hisfaith.
• More Polarized Views of Obama’sReligion. Discomfortwith Obama’s religion is predominantly concentrated among those who say he isMuslim. And there is a much stronger partisan component in views of Obama’sreligion than Romney’s. More than a third (36%) of Republican and Republicanleaning registered voters say they are uncomfortable with Obama’s religion;just 16% of Democratic voters say they are uncomfortable with Romney’sreligion.
• Most See Religion’s InfluenceDeclining.Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say religion as a whole is losing its influenceon American life. That is little changed from 2010, but among the highestpercentages saying religion is losing its influence since the question wasfirst asked in a Gallup poll in 1957. A small but growing share of Americanssay it is good that religion’s influence is declining: Currently, 12% say this,up from 6% in 2006.
• Liberals, Conservative Christiansand Religion in Society.More Americans (65%) say liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religionout of the schools and the government than say that conservative Christianshave gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the country(48%). About a quarter of Americans (27%) say both sides have gone too far whenit comes to religion – liberals in trying to keep it out of schools andgovernment, and conservative Christians in trying to impose religious values.

The full report, including slideshow gallerieshighlighting key findings, is available on the PewForum’s website. 

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The Pew ResearchCenter’s Forum on Religion & Public Life conducts surveys, demographicanalyses and other social science research on important aspects of religion andpublic life in the U.S. and around the world. As part of the Washington-basedPew Research Center, a nonpartisan, non-advocacy organization, the Pew Forumdoes not take positions on policy debates or any of the issues it covers. 

Twitter: @pewforum 

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