Is U.S. evangelical vote in play?

By Ed Stoddard - Analysis

DALLAS (Reuters) - Evangelical Christians who have greatly influenced recent U.S. elections are seen playing a different but once again key role in this November's White House race and analysts say both parties are keen to woo them.

"I think it (the evangelical vote) will be different this time round. The evangelical community is more fractured than it has been in the past," said Allen Hertzke, director of religious studies at the University of Oklahoma.

One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical or "born-again" Christian, giving them electoral clout in a country where religion and politics often mix.

All of the contenders in the presidential race -- Republican presumptive nominee John McCain and Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who are battling for the Democratic crown -- are Protestant Christians.

Obama importantly in evangelical eyes had an adult "conversion experience" into the United Church of Christ while Clinton was raised a Methodist. McCain grew up in the mainline Episcopal faith but now attends a Baptist church in Phoenix.

Analysts say if Obama is the Democratic nominee he could make inroads into this Republican bloc because of his frank talk about faith and appeal to young evangelicals.

McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam and Arizona senator, faces the difficulty of wooing skeptical religious conservatives within his own party who view him as soft on some of their core issues, such as stem-cell research and gay marriage.

This could dampen their enthusiasm to turn out and vote the way they did in 2004, when 78 percent of white evangelicals who cast ballots did so for President George W. Bush.