By Brian Basinger and Beth Hatcher

ATLANTA - Georgians overwhelmingly support the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings and want more religious influence in their government, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government interviewed 807 state residents by random during a telephone poll between Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.

Results show 72 percent of respondents either strongly approve or mildly approve of Ten Commandments displays in public buildings, a controversial issue in Georgia this year.

Barrow County in Northeast Georgia is facing a federal lawsuit from a resident who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues the placement of the religious document in the county's courthouse is unconstitutional.

But Lane Downs, public information officer for the Barrow County Commission, said the poll results reflect the commission's gut instincts.

''The commissioners feel they are representing the will of the people,'' Downs said Thursday.

Barrow County Commission Chairman Eddie Elder said he would not be surprised if more than 90 percent of the people in Barrow County support Ten Commandments displays in public buildings.

A ruling on Barrow County's motion to dismiss the ACLU suit is expected any day from U.S. District Judge William O'Kelley, who heard the case's dismissal motion Dec. 11.

Along with Barrow County, a host of other Northeast Georgia counties have chosen to hang the commandments in public buildings.

Cherokee, Habersham, Jackson and Walton counties also had the Ten Commandments displayed in public buildings this year, though Habersham's was ordered down by O'Kelley in November.

''It does not surprise me but it saddens me,'' Bo Turner, a plaintiff in the Habersham case, said of the poll's findings.

And although the Habersham court case has ended, for Turner the trial is far from over. The Baptist preacher has received two death threats since the trial's close, and said he has faced public opposition within his home county.

''The weather's chilly and so is the reception wherever I go,'' he said Thursday.

And likely Turner's reception would not be much different in other areas of the country.

The Vinson Institute poll showed Georgians' opinion on the posting of religious documents closely mirrors national trends.

In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in September, 70 percent of Americans said they approved of displaying the Ten Commandments in government buildings.

However, only 33 percent of respondents to both the Georgia poll and the national poll said they approved of displaying a verse from the Koran, the Islamic holy book, in a government building.

The Vinson Institute poll also found 79 percent of Georgians strongly or mildly approve of allowing non-denominational prayer in public schools.

And 65 percent of Georgia respondents would allow state funds to be used for social programs run by Christian organizations, compared to 64 percent of national poll respondents.

Jackson County Commission Chairman Harold Fletcher said social programs run through Christian organizations would get ''more bang for the buck'' because of the strong volunteer pools provided by churches.

According to Downs, the poll's results show that the commandments battle will continue to burn as Georgia's Christians continue to fight a vocal minority.

''The Ten Commandments will be a political issue in the upcoming election,'' Downs said.