Congress' new class has much higher percentage of Christians than American public
With the National Prayer Breakfast in the news, I thought this chart/article was of interest.
Congress’ new class has much higher percentage of Christians than American public
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, remains the only member of the new Congress who uses the description of religiously unaffiliated.
https://religionnews.com/2023/01/03/congress-new-class-has-much-higher-percentage-of-christians-than-american-public/
House members stand with their families as a prayer is read in the House chamber on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
January 3, 2023 By Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) — The religious makeup of the new Congress bucks the trends seen in American religious life, a new report finds.
The Pew Research Center says the Senate and House members are “largely untouched” by the continuing decrease in the portion of Americans who identify as Christian and the comparable increase in the share of those who say they do not have a religious affiliation.
Christians comprise 88% of the voting members of the 118th Congress who are expected to be sworn in this week (week of Jan. 3), a number that has not changed much since the 1970s, when 91% of members said they were affiliated with that faith.
The American population, on the other hand, has seen a drop in those identifying as Christians, from 78% in 2007 to 63% currently. Close to 3 in 10 Americans (29%) say they are religiously unaffiliated — atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” — a far larger portion than 16% in 2007.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, remains the only member of the new Congress who uses the description of religiously unaffiliated. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., described himself as humanist. Huffman also said he was “the token humanist in Congress” when he spoke via videotaped remarks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s annual convention in October.
Another 20 members are listed as having no known religious affiliations. Most of them declined to state an affiliation when asked by CQ Roll Call, whose data is the primary source of analysis for the Pew biennial report. The “Faith on the Hill” report noted that Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was “moved to this category following revelations that he misrepresented parts of his life story and resume during his 2022 midterm campaign.”
“The religious makeup of the 118th Congress” Graphic courtesy of Pew Research Center
= new reply since forum marked as read
