Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 114th Congress

[cbayer]

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/01/05/faith-on-the-hill/

JANUARY 5, 2015
Faith on the Hill
The Religious Composition of the 114th Congress

When the new, 114th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 6, 2015, Republicans will control both chambers of the legislative body for the first time since the 109th Congress (2005-2006). Yet, despite the sea change in party control, there is relatively little change in the overall religious makeup of Congress, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. More than nine-in-ten members of the House and Senate (92%) are Christian, and about 57% are Protestant, roughly the same as in the 113th Congress (90% and 56%, respectively).1 About three-in-ten members (31%) are Catholic, the same as in the previous Congress.



How the 114th Congress Compares With the General PublicProtestants and Catholics continue to make up a greater percentage of the members of Congress than of all U.S. adults. Pew Research surveys find that, as of 2013, 49% of American adults are Protestant, and 22% are Catholic.

As was the case in the 113th Congress, the biggest difference between Congress and the general public is in the share of those who say they are religiously unaffiliated. This group makes up 20% of the general public but just 0.2% of Congress. The only member of Congress who describes herself as religiously unaffiliated is Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

Many of the nation’s smaller religious groups are represented in roughly equal proportion to their numbers in the U.S. adult population. Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus combined represent roughly 2% of American adults and 1% of Congress. Jews continue to have greater representation in Congress (5%) than in the population as a whole (2%), but there are five fewer Jewish members in the 114th Congress than there were in the 113th, and 11 fewer than there were in the 112th Congress.

more at link

[Sanity Claws]

1. No Pastafarians in Congress?

Oh my!

[cbayer]

2. The whole slew of "don't know/refused" might be pastafarians.

We should search the coat room for colanders.

[Sanity Claws]

3. Noodles would be another dead giveaway

but no way will I enter Congress' coat room or closet. I might find a lot of Republicans in there.

[cbayer]

4. I say we go undercover and meet in the House dining room.

They have dynamite bean soup.

Our code word can be "Freedom Fries" and we should quietly inquire as to whether they have any Ramen.

[Sanity Claws]

5. Bean soup!

Just give me a toot and I'll be right there.

[cbayer]

8. That is the one thing I wasn't kidding about, too.

We used to go there when I was a kid just for the amazingly delicious white bean soup.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Or lobbyists with unmarked envelopes.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. 9 out of 525 is a 'slew' to you? Holy shit, I've been using English wrong this whole time.

slew 1
also slue (slo͞o)
n. Informal
A large amount or number; a lot: a slew of unpaid bills.


[Irish Gaelic sluagh, multitude, from Old Irish slúag.]

[mmonk]

9. You forgot one. Corporatist Supply Side:

89%

[cbayer]

10. Yep and that is the scariest of them all.

[mmonk]

11. You got it. The unspoken religion.

[cbayer]

12. Money is the real god.

[mmonk]

13. Unfortunately it has become so here in the US.

Too bad its adherents don't see it and are easily manipulated. The Golden Calf.