White House advisors, including one of President Obama’s top faith consultants, are signaling a potential compromise on a controversial new mandate that requires some religious institutions to cover contraception costs for employees.

David Axelrod, a senior campaign adviser for the Obama reelection campaign, said Tuesday that Obama may be open to a compromise that would expand a religious exemption in the new Health & Human Services mandate to satisfy religious groups.

“We certainly don’t want to abridge anyone’s religious freedoms,” Axelrod said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “So we’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventive care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney said later on Tuesday that the adminstration is eager to allay the concerns of Catholic leaders livid over the contraception mandate.

Also on Tuesday, Pastor Joel Hunter, a Florida evangelical who prays with Obama and once served on a consultative council for the White House faith-based office, likewise hinted that a compromise could be coming soon.

“There are conversations right now to arrange a meeting to talk with folks about how this policy can be nuanced,” Hunter told the Washington Post. “This is so fixable, and we just want to get into the conversation.”

Despite the moves toward compromise, a new survey released on Tuesday indicated that a majority of Americans, including Catholics, believe that employers should be required to provide health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost.

Full Story: White House signals backtrack on contraception rule

Source: Religion News Service