# More than 50% of Americans polled don't know Romney's religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429 "2011-07-26T21:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/1 "2011-07-26T21:14:36Z")
This is unbelievable: > [@](#): > > Pop quiz: Mitt Romney is the current front-runner in the Republican race for the White House; he ran for president in 2008 and was governor of Massachusetts from 2004 to 2007. Can you name his religion? > > More than half of Americans were unable to answer the question correctly, according to a new Public Religion Research Institute/Religion News Service poll. One in 10 thought Romney is Protestant or Catholic, while nearly 50 percent said they didn’t know at all. Romney is Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How can you not know ths? You may not know his standing on different issues, but his religion has been all over the news for _years_ now. Just so he won’t feel lonely, the same poll finds that > [@](#): > > Nearly 20 percent still think Obama is a Muslim, according to to the poll, and just 38 percent correctly answered that he is a Christian. > **[Poll: Most Americans unable to identify Romney’s religion](https://www.yahoo.com/news/blogs/ticket/poll-most-americans-unable-identify-romney-religion-190311705.html)** > > Pop quiz: Mitt Romney is the current front-runner in the Republican race for the White House; he ran for president in 2008 and was governor of Massachusetts from 2004 to 2007. Can you name his religion? More than half of Americans were unable to... [http://www.publicreligion.org/research/?id=654](http://www.publicreligion.org/research/?id=654) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/2 "2011-07-26T21:39:09Z")
The numbers regarding Obama are interesting. It almost goes without saying that the people who say “Obama is a Muslim” are on the right of the political spectrum. But interestingly, a large chunk of the population on the LEFT agrees with the statement “Obama is not a Christian.” What that suggests to me is, there are a lot of liberals who have long been telling themselves “Obama can’t possibly be a Christian. He’s an intellectual like me, which means he MUST be an unbeliever like me. All that church-going, it HAS to be just for show.” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/3 "2011-07-26T21:39:22Z")
Most people don’t know fuck-all about any particular subject. Try asking Americans if Reagan or Clinton ran a bigger debt. Also compare Clinton to W? And these are facts. Try asking them whose policies caused the Great Recession (which is to some extent a matter of opinion since Clinton certainly did his share of bank deregulation; but that’s getting down to detail, the ignorance is too broadly based for that to be relevant). Try asking Canadians if crime is up recently, as the government insists because they want to plaster the country in new prisons. There are still loads of climate change deniers. That is a question of fact, while the question of whether it is the result of human activity is perhaps less certain. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/4 "2011-07-26T21:42:44Z")
Why is this unbelievable? Who cares what his religion is? On top of that, how many of that 50% do you think believes he’s some form of Christian? Guess what, they’re right. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/5 "2011-07-26T22:06:13Z")
It’s not just politics. Ask a question on any topic: history, geography, science, math. You’ll be astounded at how many get it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/6 "2011-07-26T22:23:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The numbers regarding Obama are interesting. It almost goes without saying that the people who say “Obama is a Muslim” are on the right of the political spectrum. But interestingly, a large chunk of the population on the LEFT agrees with the statement “Obama is not a Christian.” > > What that suggests to me is, there are a lot of liberals who have long been telling themselves “Obama can’t possibly be a Christian. He’s an intellectual like me, which means he MUST be an unbeliever like me. All that church-going, it HAS to be just for show.” Where did you see that a large chunk of the population on the left agrees with the statement “Obama is not a Christian?” I can’t find it in either of the two links provided by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/7 "2011-07-26T22:37:44Z")
I’d be interested in the breakdown by party on the Romney question. A lot of pundits have been saying that his religion will hurt him with the Christian fundamentalists in the Republican primaries. Of course, there’s still time for his competitors to get the word out, but anyone who doesn’t know he’s a Latter-Day Saint won’t vote against him on that ground. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/8 "2011-07-26T22:38:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How can you not know ths? You may not know his standing on different issues, but his religion has been all over the news for _years_ now. You’re assuming that everyone watches, listens to, or reads the news. I know _many_ people who never do. Except perhaps local weather and sports. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/9 "2011-07-26T23:08:00Z")
Is Romney the Morman one? I know one of those guys is. I won’t be voting for any Republican, but the first thing that springs to mind is Article VI, paragraph 3. It’s good that people don’t know his religion: it’s irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/10 "2011-07-26T23:12:44Z")
Some sort of pagan/voodoo cult, right? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/11 "2011-07-26T23:16:15Z")
That is surprising since it’s Romney’s main identifying characteristic in this campaign. Personally, I don’t care, his religion is the least of my concerns as far as he’s concerned. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/12 "2011-07-26T23:19:18Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Why is this unbelievable? Who cares what his religion is? On top of that, how many of that 50% do you think believes he’s some form of Christian? Guess what, they’re right. I guess it all depends upon what you think this statistic is evidence of. If the 50% figure truly demonstrated a lack of concern in the American electorate over a candidate’s religion, then i’d be perfectly happy with it. While i was well aware of Romney’s Mormonism, my opposition to him is based on his political platform. I concede that religion often plays a role in a person’s political position, but the simple fact of him being a Mormon would not be enough for me to write someone off as a candidate. Thing is, though, i’m willing to bet that this 50% figure is not because people don’t care about his religion, but rather because they pay so little attention to politics and current events. It is, in other words, a product of ignorance rather than a question of deeming religion irrelevant. As others have pointed out, though, this sort of thing isn’t unique to the issue of Romney’s religion. A pretty large proportion of the American population is ignorant about many aspects of the nation’s history and political life and economy. ---
**Author:** ![PlanetCharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@PlanetCharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanetCharlie)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/13 "2011-07-26T23:20:44Z")
If 10% thought he was Protestant or Catholic, while another 50% doesn’t know, that means a grand total of 60% don’t know what religion he is! Youch. I live in an area of California with a lot of mormons though, perhaps in the deep south/midwest/etc they aren’t as prevalent? Still… very scary. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/14 "2011-07-26T23:49:28Z")
Not that surprising. Only something like 7% of the population voted in the GOP primary in 2008. And if your not voting in the primary, there isn’t really a strong reason to keep track of the “also rans”, other then general interest. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/15 "2011-07-27T00:02:50Z")
Maybe people would give a shit what religion he is if/when he becomes someone who matters worth a fuckall? Right now he is nothing but a twinkle in the GOP’s crazy, sadistic eye on the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/16 "2011-07-27T01:00:10Z")
The Yahoo link did not break this down by party, but if a significant number of Republicans get this wrong, the Yahoos are not doing a good mudslinging job. ---
**Author:** ![Bayesian\_Empirimancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@Bayesian\_Empirimancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayesian_Empirimancer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/17 "2011-07-27T02:20:53Z")
I apologize, but no one has mentioned magnets as of yet. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/18 "2011-07-27T02:39:52Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Where did you see that a large chunk of the population on the left agrees with the statement “Obama is not a Christian?” I can’t find it in either of the two links provided by the OP. Here’s a link to a Pew survey from some time ago. [http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Issues/Politics\_and\_Elections/growingnumber-full-report.pdf](http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Issues/Politics_and_Elections/growingnumber-full-report.pdf) Not surprisingly, VERY few people who identify themselves as liberal Democrats believe Obama is a Muslim (5 or 6%). On the other hand, a full 41% of people who identify as liberal Democrats do NOT believe Obama is a Christian! What does that tell us? Either that a sizable number of liberal Democrats are ignoramuses, or that a lot of liberal Democrats are reassuring themselves that Obama is only pretending to be a Christian, to get votes from gullible believers. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/19 "2011-07-27T07:00:53Z")
I read recently that a substantial number of British school children believe that Winston Churchill was a mythical person, much like King Arthur. I wonder if American school kids–or let’s say Americans 21 or under–think Washington and Lincoln were mythical, and maybe even feel that way about JFK? Scary. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/20 "2011-07-27T07:21:58Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > It’s not just politics. Ask a question on any topic: history, geography, science, math. You’ll be astounded at how many get it wrong. I think fundamentally, regular people just can’t be arsed to answer some dumb, condescending poll question truthfully. I mean, don’t these pollsters whose exclusive job is to churn out a nonstop sausage poll-fest do some introspection and realize how their inanity causes the general public to simply go meh… About their polling, Or worse turn them into jokers? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429.md?page=2)