A leading US blogger and political pundit has "come out" publicly as a Christian.

Ana Marie Cox, writing for The Daily Beast, said: "I'm not scared that non-believers will make me feel like an outcast. I'm scared that Christians will."

She said she had not previously been public about her faith, and had been more tempted by an image as "progressive, feminist, tattooed, pro-choice, graduate-educated believer".

Then she remembered that "believing in God is about as punk rock as wearing pants", maybe less so given the huge numbers of Americans who believe in God.

Cox, who founded the political blog Wonkette and is lead blogger on US politics for The Guardian, said her faith is part of who she is and is not something she struggles with. The only time she has felt uncomfortable talking about it is when it comes up in conversation with colleagues.

She said the secret of her happiness is simmple: "I try, every day, to give my will and my life over to God. I try to be like Christ. I get down on my knees and pray." When she said this once in the Fox News green room, "it stopped conversation as surely as a fart, and generated the same kind of throat-clearing discomfort."

Seeing the way the Christian faith of President Obama is constantly challenged is one of the things that has made her reluctant to come out as a Christian. "If Obama's occasional mangling of scripture is proof positive that he's not a 'real' Christian, I have so much studying to do I may never catch up."

She explicitly states that she does not just believe in God but is a Christian.

"One of the most painful and reoccurring stumbling blocks in my journey is my inability to accept that I am completely whole and loved by God without doing anything. That's accompanied by a corresponding truth: There is nothing so great I can do to make God love me more."

Later, she tweeted: "Humbled by positive reactions to my DB piece. They prove how selfish my fears about 'going public' were. Thank you everyone; thank you, God."