41% of non-Catholic Latinos say they left the church, survey finds

Forty-one percent of Latinos who do not currently identify as Catholic say they once were part of the church, an NBC News/Telemundo poll finds.

Fifty-eight percent of those who do not identify as Catholic were never Catholic, the Latino poll finds.

Overall, 48% of those surveyed in the Latino poll currently identify as Catholics. Twenty-five percent identify as Protestant, 1% identify as Jewish, 1% identify as Muslim and 18% don't identify with a religion.

The poll also finds that only 33% of Latinos see their religion as a major factor or the single most important factor in deciding who to vote for. 67% believe that their religion is a minor factor or not at all a factor in how they vote.

Additionally, Latino voters were asked whether they identify as a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian. Only 20% identify as such, while 79% report that they are not a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian.

The NBC News/Telemundo poll was conducted Sept. 17 - Sept. 26 via landline, cellphone and text message. 1,000 Latino registered voters were interviewed and the margin of error is ±3.1%.