The Hill News

While white, evangelical Protestants are more likely than the general public to view Mormonism as a non-Christian faith â€" and less likely to support Mitt Romney â€" a majority of those voters are willing to back Romney in a general election run against President Obama, a new survey by the Pew Research Center finds.

In Pew's survey, they find Romney trailing Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain among white, evangelical Protestants, over half of whom believe Mormonism is not a Christian faith. The former Massachusetts governor does lead the rest of the Republican field by double digits among mainline Protestants, and edges out Cain and Gingrich among white Catholics.

But with evangeli! cals occupying a vocal and influential role in the GOP, that could spell trouble for Romney. Recent national polls have found Gingrich slightly ahead of Romney, with Cain slipping to third. Those who do not believe that Mormonism is a Christian faith are more likely â€"36 percent to 25 percent â€" to have an unfavorable view of Romney.  Two-thirds of Republicans describe Mormon beliefs as "very different from their own."

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