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Congress is still overwhelmingly Christian

A new Pew survey of the religion of elected officials shows that most of Congress is still Christian, with nine of every 10 members of the House and Senate identifying as one of the religion's many denominations.

That represents a slight uptick from the 113th Congress, when just 90 percent were Christian. The percentage of members who identify as Protestant has also risen from 56 to 57 percent.

Just less than one third of members, 31 percent, are Catholic, which is unchanged from the previous Congress.

In general, Congress is both more Christian and more religious than the American population as a whole. Pew research surveys found that in 2013, 49 percent of American adults said they were Protestant and 22 percent said they are Catholic. Additionally, 20 percent of American adults say they are not affiliated with any religion, but just 0.2 percent of Congress - one member, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona - say the same.

The other religion with outside representation in Congress is Judaism. Five percent of members are Jewish, compared to just 2 percent of the U.S. adult population. There are five fewer Jewish members in this Congress than there were in the 113th, including a major loss of seniority for Jewish Republicans since former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in his Virginia primary in June. The lone Jewish Republican in the 114thCongress is Lee Zeldin, a freshman from New York.

The percentage of Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus are represented more proportionally, comprising a combined 1 percent of Congress and 2 percent of American adults.

Two-thirds of Republicans in Congress identify as Protestant, a 27 percent are Catholic, and five percent are Mormon.

Just 44 percent of Democrats are Protestant, but 35 percent are Catholic and 12 percent are Jewish. There are also two Mormon Democrats, two Buddhists, two Muslims, one Hindu, and one who does not identify with a religion.

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