Salt Lake City, USA - Following up on polls that indicate some Americans would not vote for a Mormon for President, the Gallup organization did a more extensive survey to find out what Americans think of Mormons.
Nationwide, Gallup found that 9% have a "very favorable opinion" of Mormons, 33% "somewhat favorable", 30% "somewhat unfavorable", 16% "very unfavorable" and 11% no opinion.
Even more interesting were the responses to the question:
"We'd like you to think about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. What comes to mind when you think about this religion?"
The number one response was "polygamy" at 18%. That was followed by "Salt Lake City and Utah" with 10%.
What’s more, Mitt Romney is associated with Mormonism by 3% of respondents. 3% may not seem like a lot, but consider this: Romney out-polled the LDS Church's flagship university – BYU – which got only 2%, as well as the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir (2%), and even the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith (2%).
Such "top-of-mind" impressions are sure to be disappointing to some Mormons, but they may find comfort in the 7% who said Mormons were "good, kind, caring people with strong morals." That was number three on the list behind "polygamy" and "Salt Lake City."