Ten percent of American voters believe Sen. Barack Obama is Muslim, despite the presidential candidate's frequent descriptions of his Christian faith and a high-profile flap over his former pastor.

The finding was contained in survey results released by the non-partisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

While a majority — 53% — identify Obama as a Christian, 16% of conservative Republicans, 16% of white evangelical Protestants and 19% of rural Americans believe the Illinois senator is Muslim.

About a third of Americans said they don't know what Obama's religious beliefs are, and 9% of that group said it's because they've heard different information about his faith.

Confusion over the candidate's religion crosses party lines.

Fourteen percent of all Republicans, 10% of Democrats and 8% of independents think he's Muslim, according to the survey.

Nearly 80% of Americans said they had heard something about controversial sermon sound bites from Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, that have been circulating in the media.

The survey follows an earlier poll in which 80% of the general public said they'd heard rumors that Obama is Muslim.

Enlarge By Alex Wong, Getty Images Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks to supporters at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Tuesday.