Religious Affiliation in the United States Senate
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The following list shows the count of the reported religious affiliation of the members of the United States Senate as of January 1, 2006:
- Roman Catholic - 24 - Joe Biden, Sam Brownback, Jim Bunning, Maria Cantwell, Susan Collins, Mike DeWine, Christopher Dodd, Pete Domenici, Richard Durbin, Tom Harkin, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Mary Landrieu, Patrick Leahy, Mel Martinez, Barbara Mikulski, Lisa Murkowski, Patty Murray, Jack Reed, Ken Salazar, Rick Santorum, John E. Sununu, David Vitter, George Voinovich (13 Democrats, 11 Republicans).
- Presbyterian - 15 - Lamar Alexander, George F. Allen, Kit Bond, Richard Burr, Thomas R. Carper, Mark Dayton, Jim DeMint, Elizabeth Dole, Michael Enzi, Bill Frist, James Inhofe, Jon Kyl, Jay Rockefeller, Richard Shelby, Jim Talent (12 Republicans, 3 Democrats).
- Jewish and Orthodox Judaism - 11 - Barbara Boxer, Norm Coleman, Russ Feingold, Dianne Feinstein, Herb Kohl, Frank Lautenberg, Carl Levin, Joseph Lieberman, Charles Schumer, Arlen Specter, Ron Wyden (9 Democrats, 2 Republicans).
- Methodist and United Methodist - 11 - Jeff Bingaman, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Larry Craig, Daniel Inouye, Johnny Isakson, Dick Lugar, Ben Nelson, Pat Roberts, Jeff Sessions, Debbie Stabenow, Craig L. Thomas (6 Republicans, 5 Democrats).
- Episcopalian - 10 - Evan Bayh, Lincoln Chafee, Saxby Chambliss, Chuck Hagel, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Blanche Lincoln, John McCain, Bill Nelson, Ted Stevens, John Warner (7 Republicans, 3 Democrats).
- Baptist and Southern Baptist - 7 - Robert Byrd, Tom Coburn, Thad Cochran, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Trent Lott, Mitch McConnell (6 Republicans, 1 Democrat).
- Latter-Day Saint - 5 - Robert Foster Bennett, Mike Crapo, Orrin Hatch, Harry Reid, Gordon H. Smith (4 Republicans, 1 Democrat).
- Congregational - 3 - Daniel Akaka, Judd Gregg, Jim Jeffords (1 Democrat, 1 Republican, 1 Independent).
- Lutheran - 3 - Conrad Burns, Byron Dorgan, Tim Johnson (2 Democrats 1 Republica).
- United Church of Christ - 3 - Max Baucus, Jon Corzine, Barack Obama (3 Democrats).
- Greek Orthodox - 2 - Paul Sarbanes, Olympia Snowe (1 Democrat, 1 Republican).
- Church of Christ - 1 - John Cornyn (1 Republican).
- Evangelical - 1 - Mark Pryor (1 Democrat).
- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel - 1 - John Ensign (1 Republican).
- McLean Bible Church - 1 - John Thune (1 Republican).
- Unitarian Universalist - 1 - Kent Conrad (1 Democrat).
- Protestant - 1 - Wayne Allard (1 Republican).
While the religious preference of elected officials is by no means an indication of their allegiance nor necessarily reflective of their voting records, the religious affiliation of prominent members of all three branches of government is a source of commentary and discussion among the media and public. The topic is also of interest to religious groups and the general public who may appeal to Senators of their denomination on religious or moral issues facing the Senate.
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[edit] Compared with general population
The most basic breakdown of the above data indicates that 89% of the Senate is Christian (compared with 79.8% of the population) and 11% of the Senate is Jewish (compared with 1.4% of the population). According to the data, no Senator falls under the category "No Religion/Atheist/Agnostic" - a category embodied by 15.0% of the U.S. population according to the 2001 Census.
The following list compares the seven largest reported religious affiliations of U. S. Senators to religious statistics of the demographics of the United States:
- International Church of the Foursquare Gospel are represented by 1% of the Senate for .1% of the population (10.00x)
- Jews are represented by 11% of the Senate for 1.4% of the population. (7.85x)
- Episcopalians are represented by 10% of the Senate for 1.8% of the population. (5.55x)
- Presbyterians are represented by 15% of the Senate for 2.8% of the population. (5.25x)
- Latter-Day Saints are represented by 5% of the Senate for 1.4% of the population. (3.57x)
- Methodists are represented by 11% of the Senate for 7.2% of the population. (1.52x)
- Catholics are represented by 24% of the Senate for 25.9% of the population. (0.92x)
- Lutherans are represented by 3% of the Senate for 4.6% of the population. (0.65x)
- Baptists are represented by 7% of the Senate for 17.2% of the population. (0.40x)
