Survey: 92% of Congress are Christians

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Members of Congress who'll get sworn in Tuesday are overwhelmingly Christian, with a greater percentage of Protestants and Catholics than in the United States.

Although the 114th Congress will begin with more Republicans than in the last session, the Pew Research Center found there is relatively little change in the religious makeup of lawmakers this year.

Ninety-two percent of members are Christian, with about 57% Protestant and 31% Catholic — roughly the same as in the 113th Congress. By comparison, Pew Research surveys show 49% of American adults are Protestant and 22% are Catholic.

Incoming Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is one of 79 Baptists in the new Congress, while House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are among the 164 Catholics. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is one of 16 Mormons in Congress.

Pew says the biggest difference between Congress and the American public is in the percentage who say they are unaffiliated with a particular religion. Two in 10 Americans, or 20%, say they are religiously unaffiliated, but Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is the only lawmaker to say that about herself.

Rep.-elect Lee Zeldin of New York will be the only Jewish Republican in the new Congress. Pew says many of the nation's smaller religious groups are represented in roughly equal proportion to their numbers among American adults. Two percent of adults say they are Jewish, compared with 5% in Congress. Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus make up 1% of Congress — five lawmakers in all — and 2% of American adults.

Pew Research bases its survey on data that's largely compiled by CQ Roll Call.