Growing number of Americans believe Obama is Muslim

A new poll just released shows Americans becoming increasingly confused - and convinced - over whether President Barack Obama is Muslim.

Almost one in five Americans, or 18 percent, believe President Obama is Muslim, a number that has increased from 11 percent in March 2009, according to a poll released on Thursday. More than 18 months into Obama’s presidency, 43 percent cannot identify Obama’s religion, a spike from the 34 percent in March 2009 who made that admission. Only one-third of adults, 34 percent, can correctly identify him as being Christian, a drastic drop from the early 2009 number of 48 percent. It should be noted the poll - conducted from July 21 - August 5, 2010, and released by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center - was completed in early August, before the president’s comments surrounding a misinformed public’s uproar over a proposed Muslim community center near the former World Trade Center site, commonly referred to as ground zero. Following party lines, more Republicans (31 percent) view Obama as being Muslim than do Democrats (10 percent). Additionally, 27 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a Christian while 46 percent of Democrats do (down from 55 percent in 2009). A number of Republicans (39 percent) do not know Obama’s religion. According to the poll, Obama is less likely to rely on his religious beliefs than his Harvard-educated predecessor. Compared to George W. Bush, 14 percent believe Obama relies on his religious beliefs when conducting policy decisions, versus the 26 percent in 2004 who thought Bush did. Among Democrats, 69 percent say Obama mentions his faith the right amount of time and 67 percent say he relies on it the right amount of time when making policy decisions. Only 34 percent of Republicans believe he mentions his faith the right amount of time and 26 percent who say he relies on his religious beliefs the right amount of time when making policy decisions. Regarding religion’s influence on society and government, 67 percent say religion is losing influence, compared to 59 percent who said this in 2006. Currently, 62 percent of those polled believe religion in losing its influence on government leaders compared with 45 percent who held that belief in 2006. Among those who say religion is losing influence on the American way of life, 82 percent of Republicans express this view, up 21 points since 2006. Additionally, 72 percent of Republicans currently say religious influence on governmental leaders is declining, up 20 points from 2006 numbers. As polls go, this one offers a few surprises. Across all political and religious groups, regardless of views on the movement, large numbers have either never heard of the conservative Christian movement or express no opinion on it. Among conservative Republicans (55 percent) and white evangelicals (64 percent) have not heard of it or have no opinion of it. This trend crosses over to liberal Democrats (54 percent) and those who are unaffiliated to any religion (66 percent). Among voters without religious affiliation, 49 percent favor Democrats, versus the 36 percent giving the nod to Republicans. Among this group, those describing themselves as agnostics and atheists favor Democrats over Republicans by a wide margin, 64 percent to 27 percent. Regarding trends in party identification, Pew Research Center survey analysis from 2006, 2008 and 2010 show Republicans making gains in the proportion of those identifying with the GOP or who lean toward the Republican party. Overall, 47 percent of registered voters in 2010 either identify with or lean toward the Democratic party, while 43 percent lean Republican. In 2008 those numbers were 51 percent Democrat and 39 percent Republican. This is a partial listing of the survey results which were based on telephone interviews among a national sample of 3,003 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in the continental US, under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. While White House officials have not provided on-the-record comments on the survey, the results have prompted a pastor from Houston to contact the Associated Press. According to the AP, it was contacted by Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, who has known Obama for years. Caldwell says the president is a Christian who prays daily. He is unsure where the misconception over Obama’s religion comes from, but labels false media reports about it a “24-hour noise box committed to presenting the president in a false light.”