FaithWorld

Republican Christine O'Donnell has a question: where in the Constitution does it say separation of Church and State?

And she is genuinely amazed that the issue is addressed in the First Amendment.

The moment was captured during a debate at Widener Law School in Wilmington and quickly spread through the blogosphere.

The Tea Party favorite, who is trying to get elected to Vice President Joe Biden's former Senate seat from Delaware, expressed surprise.

"Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state?" she asks.

The audience responded with laughter.

Her Democratic opponent Chris Coons said Donnell's question about the separation of church and state "reveals her fundamental misunderstanding of what our Constitution is, how it is amended."

(Photo: Tea Party member Ellie Mels at a Tea Party Fair in Charlotte, Michigan July 24, 2010/Rebecca Cook)

Many supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement that has shaken up politics share the same views as the Christian right on social issues like abortion and the role of religion in public life, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

While the loosely organized Tea Party movement has focused largely on shrinking the size of government and other fiscal issues, its backers are more likely to support government restrictions on gay marriage and other social issues, the Public Religion Research Institute found in its American Values Survey.

The survey found significant overlap between the Tea Party, made up mostly of Republicans, and the religious right, which has played a significant political role for decades.