Though conventional Christians distance themselves from Latter-day Saint theology — particularly when it comes to beliefs about God, Jesus Christ and scripture — they do share some of the same moral and cultural values, Tobin said, meaning the results may have something to do with religious ideology, behavior and belief.

David Keller, director of the Center for the Study of Ethics at Utah Valley State College, said while he doesn't know all the factors that may play into the survey results, personal experience bears out some prejudice toward Latter-day Saints among academics.

During his doctoral work at the University of Georgia, Keller said "quite a few grad students as well as professors were Southern Baptists, and they were particularly hostile to Mormons."

During philosophical discussions, when pressed about their feelings, he said many said they "can't define Mormons in any way as Christians because of the doctrine of individuals becoming God-like at some future time. They find that to be utter idolatry. One grad student who was particularly outward about his attitude even went so far as to claim to me he believed Mormonism was an invention of Satan," Keller said.

The conversations ensued because faculty and students learned Keller was from Utah. "There was never any feeling to me that it was personal. But it was clear that a lot of Southern Baptists are very antagonistic toward Mormonism for theological reasons. It irritates them that Mormons prominently use the name of Christ" not only in doctrinal explanations, but in the church's logo, he said.

Keller also attended Boston College for his master's degree and found nothing like what he experienced in Georgia. "I got the impression there that Catholics just don't care too much about Mormons and are not that focused on them."

Keller suspects the political ideology of most university faculty has an impact, especially since Utah and its LDS majority have been widely identified with the Republican Party since the 1970s. "People take note of that, and intuitively I would assume it does have an impact."

He said he hasn't encountered any particular negativity toward Latter-day Saints among faculty at UVSC, but that many were "miffed that certain people would self-anoint themselves as community spokespeople" during filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial visit to the school in 2004.