Faith On The Hill: Religious Makeup Of The New Congress Looks Like The Old

Many analysts described the November 2010 midterm elections as a sea change, with Republicans taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and narrowing the Democratic majority in the Senate. But this political overhaul appears to have had little effect on the religious composition of Congress, which is similar to the religious makeup of the previous Congress and of the nation, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The 112th Congress, like the U.S. public, is majority Protestant and about a quarter Catholic. Baptists and Methodists are the largest Protestant denominations in the new Congress, just as they are in the country as a whole.

A few of the country's religious groups, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Jews, have greater numerical representation in Congress than in the general population. Some others, such as Buddhists and Muslims, are represented in Congress in roughly equal proportion to their numbers in the adult U.S. population. And some small religious groups, such as Hindus and Jehovah's Witnesses, are not represented at all in Congress.

The greatest disparity between the religious makeup of Congress and the people it represents, however, is in the percentage of the unaffiliated -- those who describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular." Only six members of the 112th Congress (about 1 percent) do not specify a religious affiliation and none say they are unaffiliated. By contrast, about one-sixth (16 percent) of U.S. adults are not affiliated with any particular faith.

The findings are based on a comparison of the religious affiliations of members of the new Congress with data on the U.S. public from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum in 2007 among more than 35,000 U.S. adults, and information gathered by CQ Roll Call on the religious affiliations of members of Congress through questionnaires and follow-up phone calls to members' offices.

More information is available at "Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 112th Congress", including a downloadable graphic depicting the religious makeup of the new Congress.

Comments

[Theresa Allen]

07:55 PM on 02/01/2011

Where is there separate of faith and goverment stand anyways???

[Theresa Allen]

07:52 PM on 02/01/2011

I didn't see any Buddhist there??What is up with that..

[NickTAZ]

11:25 AM on 01/11/2011

Talk about "taking the Lord's name in vain." I was taught that the proper way to interpret this commandment was "to use God's name for a self-serving purpose is forbidden (hence, 'in vain')," but was simplified into using it for a "curse" by the simple-minded masses. These congress members would be thrown out on their kiesters (sp?) if they actually tried to govern in accordance with their supposed religious beliefs, so instead, the use God's name just to help them get elected.

[Hirnlego]

07:49 AM on 01/11/2011

How many of them are honest?

[Hysterian68]

08:10 PM on 01/10/2011

Those members of Congress who say they're atheists or "unaffiliated" will be ridiculed by the far right and others who attacked Congresswoman Giffords as "communists", and a danger to "national security". If you don't believe in God, how can we trust you with our lives?

Of course, then again, we trust our tax dollars to all those pious, pulpit-thumping, psalm-singing "born again" Christians, don't we? We can thank them, in large measure, for our current economic and political disorder.

[crystalveg]

08:50 AM on 01/10/2011

To secular liberal America
To all secular libs. Every time I ask a lib “have you ever read the bible?” they reply “Of course I have read the bible cover to cover no less and I reject it!!!!!”
But still find exception with Islam and the Koran
So open minded secular libs here is the Koran.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/koran/browse.html

[Kivahut]

08:26 PM on 01/10/2011

I read the Koran. It was nice in the beginning, but got kind of weird towards the end. I don't think it's inspired anymore than the bible.

[Nigel Patel]

09:20 PM on 01/11/2011

Why should I read your bible? It's your religion, your holy book, why should I have anything to do with the Bible or the Koran for that matter?
I haven't read either one and I won't have either one pushed on me.
I guess that makes me a "secular lib", I wonder what it makes you?

[Bill Carruth]

05:28 PM on 01/09/2011

Religion? Freud was right when he called it "A universal obsessional neurosis." Aldous Huxley too when he called religion "A consciously accepted system of make-believe." And now 2000+year later the arguments - who's right vs who's wrong - continue. If people would spend more time being kind and considerate to each other and less time worrying about a mystical hereafter, the world would be a much better place.

[LorenzoMN]

09:35 PM on 01/10/2011

But don't you see? If more of this world followed the example of Christ, with all due humility, reverence and gratitude, then we wouldn't be worrying, and we wouldn't be considering others different from ourselves. Our respective ideas, maybe, but we are all the same inside, and the sooner more people realize that, the better.

[LittleRedHenSez]

12:11 AM on 01/08/2011

I don't care what religion they are as long as they don't legislate their own religious beliefs into law, e.g., creationism must be taught in school.

[LorenzoMN]

09:36 PM on 01/10/2011

The first amendment takes care of that for you.

[Allen Reed Jensen]

08:12 PM on 01/07/2011

These results make sense. UT Senator Bob Bennett was replaced by another Mormon. Baptists replace other Baptists. It's also of little surprise that there are no Jehovah's Witnesses in congress. They are barred by their faith to even vote in elections. How in the world could they justify voting within the legislative process? Most of this is a political non-story. I was more impressed with all of the GOP minorities elected across the country (FL Senate seat: Hispanic, NV Governor's seat: Hispanic, NM Governor's seat: Hispanic female, SC Governor's seat: Indian-American female, FL congressman: black, SC congressman: black, ID congressman: Hispanic).

[ThinkCreeps]

06:21 PM on 01/07/2011

The number of representatives being assessed in the study on the basis of the assumed superstition of their parents, rather than a stated personal superstition?

[LorenzoMN]

09:39 PM on 01/10/2011

Typical lame ploy by just another atheist....call religion "superstition" and that will make it go away, right? Just because you don't see the Light does not mean others must live in darkness.

[Nigel Patel]

09:22 PM on 01/11/2011

Where is this light that you supposedly see that others don't?
I see a world that doesn't need any gods.

[Seaniebhoy]

01:36 PM on 01/07/2011

Its all for show....American politicians only worshp the mighty dollar.

[PeteLeS]

10:50 AM on 01/07/2011

No matter how the Pew devides it up there are still more foxes guarding the chickens than there were in the 111th.

[Nigel Patel]

09:23 PM on 01/11/2011

Yep there are a lot more Corporatarians in the 112th.

[SolarArray]

09:50 PM on 01/06/2011

I wonder how many of this new batch of Republicans don't believe in evolution?

[jmengr]

02:32 PM on 01/07/2011

You mean won't admit to believing in evolution in order to pander to fools.

[Oceras]

06:11 PM on 01/06/2011

It's important to understand the religious make-up of Congress because it gives you an understanding of their motivations. There are quite a few Congressmen and Congresswomen who appear to not be able to separate their religious bent from their decision-making. Those Congressmen and Congresswormen legislate not "for the people", but for some of the people. Legislation at hand needs to be evaluated to determine if it contains anything that gives an advantage or a benefit of one religion over another, no matter how small the representation in their districts.

[Weirdwriter]

05:43 PM on 01/06/2011

I'd rather know they're principled, conscientious, competent, honest people than whatever religious views they hold. "By their fruits, you will know them."

[Dan Jighter]

10:11 PM on 01/06/2011

But their religious views may put their principles and competency into serious question. For example, I would not want someone who believe in Creationism and homosexuality being a sin to govern.

[Seaniebhoy]

01:37 PM on 01/07/2011

I would be more worried about abortion rights....