Religion could tip race for White House

Powerful, unique and unpredictable religious crosscurrents are at work in the US presidential election and could produce subtle but significant shifts that would decide the outcome in what is shaping up to be a very close contest between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Most important are evangelical Christians, one of the most powerful and reliable voting blocs in the Republican party. Many of them are unsettled by Romney's Mormon faith.

Few, if any, Evangelicals will vote for Obama regardless because his support for abortion rights and his new backing of same-sex marriage are an anathema to Christian conservatives. But many fundamentalist Christians consider Romney's religion a sect and not Christian. Furthermore, Romney's positions on certain social issues like abortion have shifted over the years, fueling doubts among some Republicans about his conservative convictions. He now says he opposes abortion.