How many Non-Christians do we have in Congress??

[BayCityProgressive]

Anyone know? I know we have a new Muslim congressman. How many Jewish congressmen are there? do we have any atheists, unitarians, Bhuddists ect??

[lvx35]

1. There's a load of jews.

Especially jewish dems, but I don't have exact numbers.

[ramapodem]

11. Nonsense...

your just saying that cuz 70% of the jewish population is Democrat. (See Culture War: A Myth of a Polarized America by Fiorina 2nd ed , Chap 7) I just wrote a grad level paper on Jewish and Catholic vote defection from the Democratic Party .

[AlienGirl]

12. 13 Jews in the Senate, 30 in the House; is that "a load"?

More Jews in Congress than ever before

The largest number of Jews ever to hold seats in the newly elected United States Congress was announced in a report released by the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP) on Wednesday.

The report also stated that 246 Jews in 36 countries, including the United States, hold parliamentary positions, a 20 percent increase from last year. The countries include the United Kingdom and France to Tunisia and Azerbaijan.
...

More: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1162378355581

[lvx35]

16. 10% of congress isn't bad!

Compared to other religious minorities. I don't know the percent republican vs democrat vs previous congresses though, but it would be interesting to find out.

[Az]

2. There are no active atheists in elected office

At least open atheists.

[rodeodance]

3. I heard the 2 Buddists will be sworn in come Jan. First time I think

[Az]

4. Really? Can you confirm?

That may count in the atheist column as well. Buddhists can be but are not necissarily atheists.

[CarbonDate]

7. After I became atheist....

...I looked at Buddhism as a possibility for me. I couldn't get into the philosophy, though. Eliminating desire? That's like trying to teach yourself not to breathe.

No offense to any Buddhists here... if it works for you, then wonderful. It just doesn't work for me.

[Az]

10. How to tease a Buddhist

Ask them if they desire to enter into Nirvanna. :evilgrin:

[JohnLocke]

14. Link

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/tilove120806.html

[rucky]

17. One from Hawaii & one from Georgia (sic)

It was on Hartmann today. I was driving so I don't remember their names.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

18. It's true, here's a link

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS07/612210318/1009

The 535 members of the 110th Congress will be the most religiously diverse in history and includes the first Muslim and the first two Buddhists ever to serve.

[CarbonDate]

5. Here's a good link.

http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html

There are *no* Buddhists or openly atheist members of Congress. However, there were three Unitarians.

Americans have made clear that atheists are the minority group they trust the least. More people would vote for an openly gay candidate than would vote for an atheist.

There probably are atheists in Congress, but they know how to go through the motions and pretend to be Christians. Hell, I would. Why run as an atheist when you know that it will preclude people from voting for you?

[peacebird]

6. How many true Christians do we have in Congress? The kind who follow the teaching of Christ

instead of pandering to racism and homophobia? The kind who walk their talk, not the kind who wear their "faith" in flashing neon on their sleeves....

[CarbonDate]

9. Well, none of them are *true* Christians.

Following the teachings of Christ involves selling all of your belongings and giving the money to the poor... wanting after nothing and trusting that it will be provided by God... turning the other cheek and accepting insult/injury rather than retaliating (seriously, nobody would ever get elected if they ran their campaign like that)... and so on down the line.

You pretty much have to go to an Amish community to find a *true* Christian. And even then, they often break some of the laws in Leviticus (Jesus did say that the Law was still in effect) revolving around in-breeding and such. It really can't be avoided in such an isolated community.

A *true* Christian is an impossible standard. You're not allowed to *lust*, for fuck's sake. Lust is nothing more than a biological impulse to reproduce.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. not enough.

period

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. It shouldn't even matter. It should be a non-issue either way.

[AlienGirl]

15. More about Congressional diversity (mostly Dems! Go us!!):

The 110th Congress will have 43 African Americans. All 43 are Democrats.

So Republicans managed to go 0 for 252 (0%) while Democrats are 43 out of 283. (16%) 100% of African Americans in Congress are Democrats.

Congress has 2 Buddhists. Both are Democrats. Congress has 1 Muslim. He's a Democrat. The math here is easy to calculate. 100% of Buddhists and 100% of Muslims in Congress are Democrats.

There are six Asian Americans in Congress. 5 are Democrats. So while elected Asian Republicans are less than 1%, Democrats are at a meager 2%. Nevertheless 84% of Asians in Congress are Democrats.

Jewish voters, perhaps recognizing the similarities of today's religious right with horrific regimes of the past, are overwhelmingly Democratic. Of the 43 Jewish members of Congress, 38 are Democrats and 5 are Republicans. That's 12% of the entire Democratic coaltion but just 2% of the entire Republican coalition. 89% of Jews in Congress are Democrats.

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/12/10/20255/087