Pew Survey Finds Barack Obama's Religious Identity Problem Among Voters Greater than in 2008

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life released a survey Thursday showing that just 49% of Americans described the president as a Christian, while 17% said they believed he was Muslim. Just before the 2008 election, a majority, 55%, described then-candidate Obama’s faith as Christian, while just 12% said he was Muslim. The lingering questions about Obama’s faith likely come from people of two mind-sets. One is those who have an intense dislike of the president and find confirmation of all their fears in a fever swamp of conspiracy websites. [...] The second factor driving up Obama's "Muslim number" is doubtless the urge of some respondents to stick it in the pollsters' ear -- to commit a small act of defiance by giving an answer the voter knows is untrue. When the interloper in the Oval Office is deeply loathed, why credit him with anything, least that he is a Christian? Willful ignorance becomes a political act.