The only group that showed an increased knowledge about Romney’s religion was white evangelicals, whose knowledge of Romney’s faith rose from 44 percent in July to 53 percent in mid-October. 
 
 “The increase in knowledge of Romney’s Mormon faith among evangelicals is potentially problematic for Romney, since we know from our research that six in 10 evangelicals do not see the Mormon faith to be a Christian religion,” said Daniel Cox, PRRI’s research director. 
 
 “As more evangelical voters identify Romney as a Mormon, the question will be whether he can bridge the religious gap with shared political values.” 
 
 Researchers found that Perry trails both Romney and rival Herman Cain among white evangelicals on measures of political affinity, but is relatively even with Cain on measures of religious affinity. Just 8 percent of evangelical voters said Romney’s beliefs are closest to their own. 
 
 The poll is based on a random sample of 1,019 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. 
 
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 Mitt Romney might be leading or tied in the polls for the key primary states, but only 42 percent are able to identify him as a Mormon, according to a Public Religion Research Institute poll released Thursday. 
 
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 Forty-five percent of those polled said they didn’t know what Romney’s religion was, while 10 percent misidentified him as Protestant, Catholic or some other denomination, or said they didn’t think he was religious.Even as the primary season heats up and the candidates have been scrutinized on nationally televised debates that have pulled in massive ratings, the number of people who can correctly identify Romney as a Mormon remains virtually unchanged from July, when 40 percent were able to do so.According to the poll, Romney leads the other candidates, with 20 percent saying he has political views that are closest to their own. Herman Cain followed with 17 percent, Ron Paul with 12 percent and Rick Perry with 10 percent.But Romney polled the lowest when people were asked which candidate held religious beliefs that were closest to their own. Twenty percent said none of the candidates shared their religious views, while 12 percent identified with Cain, 11 percent with Perry, 9 percent with Paul and 7 percent with Romney.
– Despite Mitt Romney's religion getting plenty of press—especially when a Rick Perry backer called it a cult—fewer than half of Americans know that he is a Mormon, according to a new poll. The Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 42% correctly identified him as a Mormon; 6% believed he was a Catholic or a Protestant, and 45% said they didn't know what Romney's religion was, the Hill reports. That's virtually unchanged from the 40% who were aware of his religion in July. The only group in which awareness of Romney's religion has gone up since July was white evangelicals—which could spell trouble for the candidate, notes the Washington Post. "We know from our research that six in 10 evangelicals do not see the Mormon faith to be a Christian religion,” PRRI’s research director says. “As more evangelical voters identify Romney as a Mormon, the question will be whether he can bridge the religious gap with shared political values." Romney is on course to become the first Mormon nominee from either party, but the church has said it has no intention of getting involved in politics.