Seems like everyone’s talking religion on Capitol Hill — here’s the breakdown

By Ben Peters

Posted March 8, 2019 at 6:25pm

Religion has been a contentious topic on Capitol Hill in recent weeks.

Minnesota Democratic freshman Ilhan Omar posted several tweets that critics described as anti-Semitic. House Democrats, in response, passed an anti-hate resolution on Thursday after several days of debate. And on Friday, President Donald Trump controversially declared that the Democratic Party is “anti-Jewish.”

Roll Call dug into CQ’s member database for a look at the top five religious denominations of members in the 116th Congress. (Note: we do not include nonvoting members of Congress.) An overwhelming majority of lawmakers in both chambers identify with a Christian denomination.

Here’s the breakdown, from the fifth-largest to the largest:

5. Judaism

Thirty-four lawmakers identify as Jewish.

House —24 Democrats and two Republicans
Senate — Seven Democrats and one independent

4. Methodism

There are 39 members who identify as Methodists. (This total does not include members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Church of the Nazarene.)

House — 14 Democrats and 15 Republicans
Senate — Three Democrats and seven Republicans

3. No specific Christian denomination

Sixty-six members identify as Christians but don’t specify a denomination. (This total does not include members who identify as Protestant, Evangelical Christian or Evangelical Protestant.)

House — 22 Democrats and 36 Republicans
Senate — One Democrat and seven Republicans

2. Baptist denominations

A total of 72 members identify as Baptists or Southern Baptists.

House — 25 Democrats and 36 Republicans
Senate — Two Democratic and nine Republicans

1. Catholicism

The largest denomination in Congress is Catholicism. There are 161 Catholic voting members. (One lawmaker is a Maronite Catholic, the rest identify as Roman Catholics.)