“Tebow is part of a movement of ‘cosmopolitan Christians,’ ” said D. Michael Lindsay, the president of Gordon College and the author of “Faith in the Halls of Power,” a book about American evangelicals. “They’re more media savvy than their forebears and they understand the importance of building bridges…

Tebow has professed his faith in many forums, including at a Georgia church before about 4,000 people.

Whether religion is at the core of his popularity is debatable. But between the caricatures on one end and the deification on the other end, those with an opinion of Tebow — and that counts just about everyone — may not have an understanding of his religious beliefs beyond the broad label of evangelical Christian.

As he demonstrates in interviews and throughout his book, in his frequent appearances at churches and prisons, and even at his hugely anticipated and nationally televised introductory news conference for the Jets on Monday, Tebow is far from a firebrand evangelical.

With unflappable optimism and politeness, using his gift for artfully preaching without sounding preachy, Tebow mostly discusses his life story — a child of Southern Baptist missionaries in the Philippines who prayed for a son to become a preacher, named for Timothy in the Bible. Football, Tebow says, is his platform for greater good. He talks about the charitable works of his family and his own foundation. And he repeatedly invokes Jesus Christ’s name and the good that comes from committing to a life lived by his creed.

He has more followers than most preachers, and evokes more passion than most politicians. But, unlike so many of them, Tebow shows little interest in using his pulpit to take controversial stances.

“Tebow is part of a movement of ‘cosmopolitan Christians,’ ” said D. Michael Lindsay, the president of Gordon College and the author of “Faith in the Halls of Power,” a book about American evangelicals. “They’re more media savvy than their forebears and they understand the importance of building bridges…”

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