America is technically a secular nation. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of members of Congress have historically had a spiritual affiliation, they usually are usually overwhelmingly Christian.
Pew Analysis recently analyzed the religious makeup of the brand new 119th Congress. A decade in the past, 92% of members had been Christian. Final session, 88% recognized as Christian. This session, solely 87% of members are Christian. Listed here are a number of key highlights from Pew’s evaluation:
- The vast majority of Congress continues to determine as Christian: 461 members of Congress, or about 87%, determine as Christian. In the meantime, 55% determine as Protestant and 14% as Baptist. For context, 62% of the U.S. inhabitants identifies as Christian, 40% as Protestant, and 11% as Baptist. About 98% of Republicans are Christian (265 out of 270 members), and 75% of Democrats are Christian (196 out of 262 members).
- Different religions are a small minority: Thirty-two members determine as Jewish, 4 as Hindu, 4 as Muslim, three as Buddhist, three as Unitarian Universalist, and one as Humanist.
- Unaffiliated People are underrepresented: About 28% of People say they haven’t any non secular affiliation, however solely three members of Congress (0.6%) say they haven’t any non secular affiliation: They’re new Home members Yassamin Ansari (Democrat) and Abraham Hamadeh (Republican), each representing Arizona, and Emily Randall (Democrat), who represents Washington state.