6 Things About the Religious Persuasion of the New Congress

WASHINGTON -- There may be no atheists in foxholes, but there aren't that many in Congress, either.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life on the religious makeup of the new 112th Congress found a huge gap between the percentage of unaffiliated -- those who describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular" -- and the people they represent.

Just six lawmakers, or about 1 percent, do not list a religious affiliation. Among the general population, 16 percent of American adults are not affiliated with any particular faith.

Here are five other facts about faith on Capitol Hill:

Congress, like the country, is majority Protestant, with 56.8 percent listing themselves as members of one of more than a dozen denominations. Baptists and Methodists are the largest Protestant denominations. While there were two Pentecostals in the last Congress, there are none now.
More than one-quarter are Catholic, making up the largest single denomination.
There are six fewer Jewish members in this Congress, but they still are the most overrepresented relative to their numbers in the general population. Jews make up 7.3 percent of Congress, compared with 1.7 percent of Americans.
Mormons are also overrepresented. The 15 Mormons, one more than previously, make up nearly 3 percent of lawmakers but about 2 percent of Americans overall.
The number of Muslims, two, remained the same from the last Congress. There are now three Buddhists, one more than before.

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