Poll Shows Mitt Romney's Mormonism is Holding the Candidate Back
A New Hampshire poll revealed some voters believe Mitt Romney's Mormonism is holding him back in his bid for the United States Presidency.
A Suffolk University poll of GOP voters had Romney at the top, garnering 41 percent of the vote. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul were tied for second with 14 percent.
The poll also asked reasons why Romney's numbers were not higher across the country.
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A majority of GOP voters from New Hampshire said Romney's Mormonism is holding him back, garnering 16 percent of the vote. Flip flops on social issues, healthcare policy and too many other candidates were tied for second on the list with each receiving 10 percent, while a small percentage of the voters said he is not conservative enough.
Faith was put in the spotlight as furor over the status over Mormonism in America emerged over the last couple of months. Mormonism was placed on the forefront in October after Robert Jeffrees, a senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, called Mormonism a "cult."
Romney later responded: "I just don't believe that kind of divisiveness based on upon religion has a place in this country."
Last month, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed less than half of Americans "feel comfortable" with Romney's religious affiliation.
Just 47 percent of adults said they feel comfortable with Romney's faith, while 21 percent say they are uncomfortable with it, and another 21 percent said they did not know enough to make a judgment.
In a People magazine article set to be released this week, Romney said he said he does not have to clear up anything about his faith.
"That's not my responsibility as a candidate, and the church could do a better job describing that than I," said Romney in the interview. "But perhaps the greatest is that the real name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We consider Jesus the son of God without parallel."
