Steady surge in number of Catholics in U.S. Congress, study finds

The percentage of Catholics in the U.S. Congress has been steadily rising for the past 50 years, Pew research study finds. The number of Protestants in Congress has dropped from 75% in 1961 to 56% today, while the share of Catholics has increased from 19% to 31% in the same time frame.



Claire GiangravèJanuary 3, 2017
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

The number of Catholics in the U.S. Congress has been steadily rising for the past 50 years, Pew research study finds. While the number of Protestants in Congress has been declining, dropping from 75% in 1961 to 56% today, the share of Catholics has increased from 19% to 31% in the same time frame.

The Congress has remained unvaried overall from a religious standpoint. The 115th Congress counts 91% of members who identify as Christians, comparable to the 95% of Christian members in 1961-62.

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The study found that only 27% of Republicans in the new Congress are Catholic while 67% identify as Protestant.

Surprisingly the disparity is less stark in the Democratic Party, where 37% of members identify as Catholics and 42% identify as Protestants.

https://cruxnow.com/analysis/2017/01/03/steady-surge-number-catholics-u-s-congress-study-finds/