With a Mormon candidate among the front-runners for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, a musical about Mormons playing on Broadway and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (LDS) running television ads about ordinary Mormons, America is in the midst of what some media accounts have dubbed a “Mormon moment.” 

A major new survey explores how Mormons themselves feel about the media spotlight, the election campaign and their place in America. The survey finds a mixed picture: Many Mormons feel they are misunderstood, discriminated against and not accepted by other Americans as part of mainstream society. Yet, at the same time, a majority of Mormons think that acceptance of Mormonism is rising. Overwhelmingly, they are satisfied with their lives and content with their communities. And most say they think the country is ready to elect a Mormon president.

These are among the findings of a comprehensive survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life of more than 1,000 Mormons across the country – the first of its kind ever published by a non-LDS research organization. Previous studies, including the Pew Forum’s 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, have found that Mormons make up slightly less than 2% of the U.S. public.

See an infographic summarizing the results and read the full report for findings on these subjects:

• Reactions to the “Mormon Moment”
• Religious beliefs and practices
• Mormons and family life
• Politics, society and morality

White evangelical Protestants — a key element of the GOP electoral base — are more inclined than the public as a whole to view Mormonism as a non-Christian faith. And this view is linked to opinions about Mitt Romney: Republicans who say Mormonism is not a Christian religion are less likely to support Romney for the GOP nomination and offer a less favorable assessment of him generally. But they seem prepared to overwhelmingly back him in a run against Obama in the general election.

These are the principal findings from a new national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted Nov. 9-14 among 2,001 adults, including 1,576 registered voters. In the race for the GOP nomination, Romney trails Herman Cain by nine points (26% to 17%) among white evangelical Republican and Republican-leaning voters. Romney leads among white mainline Protestant Republicans (26% to 17% over Cain) and runs about even with Cain among white Catholic Republican voters (26% Romney, 23% Cain).

Read the full report for more findings on these subjects:

• The latest poll figures on the race for the Republican nomination
• The public’s view of the Mormon faith
• How religion and the Tea Party affect Romney’s backing in the primaries
• Support for Romney and President Obama among different religious groups
• Personal images of the 2012 candidates among religious voters
• Religious voters’ perceptions of Romney’s traits and those of Herman Cain
• How much religious voters know about the other candidates’ religions

See also: Our profiles of each candidate’s religious background

Overall, being a Mormon is hardly an asset for presidential candidates, but it is not a deal-breaker for most Americans. A quarter of Americans say they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who is Mormon, while 68% say it would not make a difference. For perspective, about the same number say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who has used marijuana in the past.

But an important group within the Republican base, white evangelical Protestants, is more uncomfortable with the idea of a Mormon candidate than are other Republicans. Among all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 31% of white evangelicals say they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon; that compares with 15% of other Republicans, according to a May survey. This gap is as large as it was four years ago.

At that time, our polling found that white evangelical Protestants were more likely than non-evangelical white Protestants to view the Mormon religion as very different from their own. And just 40% of all white evangelicals viewed Mormons as Christians; far more non-evangelical white Protestants and Catholics said that Mormons were Christians.

These findings have potentially troubling implications for Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney, particularly when one considers the G.O.P. primary landscape. Exit polls from 2008 show that 60% of those who voted in the G.O.P. Iowa caucuses, and an identical percentage of Republican voters in the South Carolina primary, were evangelicals.

Read other debaters’ takes on “Are Republicans Ready for a Mormon President?” at the New York Times‘ Room for Debate discussion.

It would be incorrect to state that “most” Christians do not view Mormonism as a Christian religion. A 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that a majority of Catholics (52%) say that Mormons are Christian; 29% say they are not. Among all Protestants, more say Mormonism is a Christian religion than say it is not by a 49%-to-34% margin. This includes 62% of white mainline Protestants who say Mormons are Christians.

Of the major Christian groups, white evangelical Protestants are the most likely to say Mormonism is not a Christian religion: 45% say Mormons are not Christians, while 40% say they are Christians.

While many Christians see Mormonism as a Christian religion, most Christians do not see their faith having much in common with Mormonism. Among all non-Mormon Americans who express a religious preference (most of whom are Christians themselves), fully 62% say that Mormonism and their own religion are “very different.” This opinion is held by 67% of white evangelical Protestants, 61% of white non-Hispanic Catholics and 56% of white mainline Protestants.

For more details about public attitudes toward Mormons, see these reports and commentaries from the 2007 survey:

“Public Expresses Mixed Views of Islam, Mormonism,” Sept. 25, 2007

“Clinton and Giuliani Seen as Not Highly Religious; Romney’s Religion Raises Concerns,” Sept. 6, 2007

“Public Opinion About Mormons,” Dec. 4, 2007