The religious makeup of the 119th Congress will be little changed from the previous term, although with some pronounced differences between the two parties, according to an analysis of biographical data collected and compiled by CQ Roll Call.
On average, Congress will continue to be much more religious than the nation as a whole, with around 95 percent of lawmakers across both the Senate and House identifying with a religious faith. The rest either are nonreligious, did not specify a religion or did not share their faith affiliation. In contrast, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center earlier this year found just under 70 percent of Americans affiliating with a religious faith.
“Congress represents America as it looked 20 or 30 years ago, not the way it looks today,” said Ryan Burge, a professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University who has written on religion in politics.
