Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Religious affiliation in the United States Senate

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While the religious preference of elected officials is by no means an indication of their allegiance nor necessarily reflective of their voting record, the religious affiliation of prominent members of all three branches of government is a source of commentary and discussion among the media and public. The topic is also of interest to religious groups and the general public who may appeal to Senators of their denomination on religious or moral issues facing the United States Senate.

Contents

Incumbent United States Senators

The following lists show the count of the reported religious affiliation of the members of the United States Senate in the 115th Congress.

Compared with general population

In conjunction with figures derived from the Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study, the most basic breakdown of the above data indicates that 88% of the Senate identifies as Christian (compared with 70.6% of the population), 8% of the Senate identifies as Jewish (compared with 1.9% of the population), 1% of the Senate identifies with other religions (compared with 5.9% of the population), and 3% percent of the Senate remains unaffiliated (compared with 22.8% of the population).

The following list compares reported religious affiliations of U.S. senators to religious statistics of the demographics of the United States of America:

  • Protestants are represented by 58% of the Senate for 46.5% of the population.
  • Presbyterians are represented by 14% of the Senate for 2.2% of the population.
  • Baptists are represented by 12% of the Senate for 15.3% of the population.
  • Methodists are represented by 11% of the Senate for 4.4% of the population.
  • Lutherans are represented by 6% of the Senate for 3.6% of the population.
  • Episcopalians are represented by 5% of the Senate for 1.2% of the population.
  • Evangelicals are represented by 2% of the Senate for 26.4% of the population.
  • Congregationalists are represented by 2% of the Senate for 0.5% of the population.
  • The Church of God is represented by 1% of the Senate for 0.7% of the population.
  • The Churches of Christ are represented by 1% of the Senate for 1.5% of the population.
  • Catholics are represented by 24% of the Senate for 20.8% of the population.
  • Mormons are represented by 6% of the Senate for 1.6% of the population.
  • Jews are represented by 8% of the Senate for 1.9% of the population.
  • Buddhists are represented by 1% of the Senate for 0.7% of the population.
  • Other religious affiliations (including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahá'ís, Taoists, Jains, Unitarian Universalists, New Age, and adherents to Native American religions) are unrepresented in the Senate for 4.3% of the population.
  • Those without religious affiliation are represented by 3% of the Senate for 22.8% of the population.

    • References

    Religious affiliation in the United States Senate Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA