Despite a large controversy not long ago about Barack Obama sitting in a church listening to Jeremiah Wright preach for 16 years, 12 percent of Americans still believe that Obama is Muslim.

The breakdown shows that 12 percent of Democrats, 12 percent of Republicans and 11 percent of Independents still hold that belief.

The poll also shows that Democrats that share that misconception about Obama are “significantly less likely to support Obama.”

Among the 12 percent that still believe that Obama is Muslim, despite evidence to the contrary, 51 percent back McCain and 37 percent back Obama. Among those that believe that Obama is a Christian, those numbers reverse themselves, with 52 percent backing Obama and 32 percent backing McCain.

DigitalJournal.com, 18 July 2008

See also “Belief that Obama is Muslim is durable, bipartisan – but most likely to sway Democratic votes”, Pew Research Center, 15 July 2008