Tea Party activists akin to religious Republicans

Americans who identify with the Tea Party are more religious than the general population but are less religious than conservative Christians, according to a new American Values poll. The report said the religious profile of the Tea Party "differs only modestly" from the religious makeup of the Republican Party.

The survey of 3,013 adults by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found that 11 percent of Americans say they are part of the amorphous Tea Party movement, compared to 22 percent of Americans who identify as Christian conservatives.

Nearly half (47 percent) of those who claim the Tea Party label also consider themselves Christian conservatives or part of the religious right, according to the survey.