Mormonism a Problem for Mitt Romney in Primary, Not General Election

While Mitt Romneys Mormon faith could hurt him in the Republican presidential primary, it's unlikely to affect his support in the general election.

A new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that Romneys religion could hurt him with white evangelical Protestants an important voting bloc in the Republican primaries. Among the evangelical voters polled, more than half -- 53 percent -- said they don't think of Mormons as Christians. Asked for a single word to describe Mormonism, evangelicals are the most likely group to respond with the word cult.

In the primary, only 17 percent of white evangelical Protestants were likely to vote for Romney, compared to 26 percent of both white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.

But that trend does not hold true in the general election, if Romney were to face President Obama. The poll finds that evangelical voters are also the bloc with the least favorable view of Obama, a Democrat. Support for Romney, if he were the nominee, would be just as high among voters who do not view Mormonism as Christianity as among those who do.

The poll of 2,001 adults was conducted Nov. 9-14. Check out the Nov. 23 poll's full results here.