The efforts of so many faithful Catholics and other people of good will, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have surged to an 11 point lead in the latest poll conducted by 'Faith in Public Life'. 51% of Catholics say they will vote for Obama, with only 40% for McCain. This is 16 points ahead of John Kerry's performance with Catholics four years ago. Among young Catholics (ages 18-34) 55% say they will vote for Obama.

Also interesting in the poll was that while past surveys have consistently found that the Republican Party has been perceived to be more "friendly" to religion, it found that Obama is perceived to be slightly more "friendly" to religion than McCain (49% to 45%).

The increasing Catholic support for Obama has put states such as Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Iowa and Pennsylvania in the category of very likely to vote for Obama. Remaining battleground states with large Catholic populations include New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio, Indiana and Nevada.