Major Religions Retain Dominance in Congress

Despite slight shrinkages in each of their ranks, Roman Catholics, United Methodists and Episcopalians maintain their predominance in the makeup of the new U.S. Congress.

Catholics continued to be the largest single denominational group with 141, but combined Protestants of various kinds were more than twice as numerous, totaling 346.

Roughly this balance has prevailed for years, almost approximating the country’s religious preference ratio, but with Catholics not quite matching their 28% and Protestants barely exceeding their 60%.

There are 37 Jews in the new Congress, down one, but triple their 2% of the nation’s population.

Diversity Represented

The religious breakdown of the 100th Congress was compiled by research director Albert J. Menendez of Americans United for Separation of Church and State of Washington, D.C.

“The religious diversity of Congress represents the vitality and diversity of the religious enterprise in America, as well as the tolerance and fair mindedness of the voters,” he said.

Noting that candidates using exclusivist religious appeals mostly lost out in the last election, he said, “Religious right activists have failed to convince Americans the nation would be better off under their rule.”

In the religious lineup, the largest group, 141 Roman Catholics, was down one. The 74 United Methodists, second largest group, were down two, and the 60 Episcopalians, third largest, were down seven.

However, in a historic pattern, Episcopalians, although less than 2% of the population, made up 11% of the Congress. They’re the largest group in the Senate, their 20 members edging the 19 Roman Catholics there.

In the entire Congress, Presbyterians ranked fourth, totaling 57, up one. The fifth-ranking group, Baptists, had 54 members, proportionately less than their share of the population, but their number was up five.

Baptists constitute the nation’s largest Protestant group, but their 10% of Congress falls short of their 20% preference in the country.

Behind the Baptist congressional ranks came 22 Protestants not specifying a denomination and 23 Lutherans, both unchanged; 16 members of the United Church of Christ, up two; 11 Mormons, down one; 10 Unitarian Universalists, up one, and seven Eastern Orthodox members, unchanged.

Disproportionate Number

To an even greater degree than the Episcopalians, the Unitarian Universalist representation in Congress far outstrips their much smaller proportion of the population.

Five members of Congress belong to independent Churches of Christ, down one. Three belong to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), unchanged. A relatively small group, Christian Scientists, doubled their representation to two, while independent Bible churches had two, other groups only one.

Among these was a small French Huguenot congregation in Charleston, S.C., tracing its heritage to 16th Century France, and of which South Carolina’s freshman Republican, Rep. Arthur Ravenel, is a member.

Four congressmen indicated no religious affiliation.