In a piece for his blog at the Washington Post, “Figuring Faith,” Dr. Robert P. Jones tackles Romney’s other “M” problem: Millennials.  According to PRRI’s 2011 American Values Survey, although Millennials are more comfortable than most with the idea of an atheist or Muslim president, a majority say they would be uncomfortable with a Mormon president.  This could spell bad news for Romney if he makes it to the general election.  But why are so many Millennials anxious about the idea of a Mormon president?  Dr. Jones has a theory:

The discomfort with a Mormon president among the Millennial generation is at first glance somewhat surprising. Millennials are the most diverse generation-racially, ethnically and religiously-in the nation’s history and are generally more accepting of religious pluralism than Americans overall. By a margin of more than 20 points, Millennial voters are significantly less likely than seniors (ages 65 an older) to say they would be uncomfortable with a Muslim president (50 percent vs. 74 percent) or an atheist president (56 percent vs. 77 percent). Yet when it comes to Mormons, these numbers are reversed: a majority of Millennial voters (54 percent) report being at least somewhat uncomfortable with a Mormon president, compared to less than four-in-ten (39 percent) senior voters.

So why are Millennials so ill at ease with the notion of a Mormon president? Given their broader acceptance of minority religious groups, Millennials’ anxiety over a Mormon president likely has less to do with the religious beliefs of Mormons (which is more at the heart of the matter for white evangelical Protestant misgivings) and more to do with the perceived political profile of Mormons and the LDS Church.

To read the full blog post, head over to “Figuring Faith.”