Poll: Romney’s Mormonism won’t impact 2012 election
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shakes hands with people during a campaign event. Romney will have to have to find a way to manage voters’ demands with the demands of his faith.
Most Americans aren't familiar with Mitt Romney's religion, but a new poll shows it won't likely impact their vote in the 2012 election.
Sixty percent of voters are aware that the former Massachusetts governor is a Mormon, but 81 percent say it doesn't matter to them, according to the poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.
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The survey did find widespread misgivings about the Mormon faith.
Nearly two-thirds of non-Mormons see Romney’s faith as very different from their own, and just half of those surveyed consider it a Christian religion, according to The Associated Press.
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But those who know Romney is a devout Mormon are OK with his faith nonetheless, according to the poll.
Less than 50 percent of those surveyed, meanwhile, believe President Barack Obama is a Christian. The rest either don't know his faith or believe he is Muslim, USA Today reported.
"Fewer say Obama is Christian — and more say he is Muslim — than did so in October 2008, near the end of the last presidential campaign," Pew stated. "The increase since 2008 is particularly concentrated among conservative Republicans, about a third of whom (34 percent) describe the president as a Muslim."
Overall, 45 percent of voters are comfortable with Obama's religion, 5 percent say it does not matter and 19 percent are uncomfortable, Reuters reported.
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