Ministry News

President Will Address a Less Mainline Protestant Congress Tonight

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Tuesday, 25 January 2011 12:28

When President Obama delivers his State of the Union speech tonight, he will address the U.S. public in the presence of the newly sworn 112th Congress that, like its constituents, is less affiliated with mainline Protestant churches than ever before. An analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life of the religious composition of the Congress sworn in Jan. 5 offers an interesting revelation about its Christian makeup:

While those who are associated with mainline Protestant churches have declined, Protestants who do not specify a particular denomination grew the most from the 111th to the 112th Congress, increasing their ranks by 19 members, to a total of 58. It’s not clear if those members are Pentecostals or charismatics, but it’s a possibility.

Protestants who do not specify a particular denomination now comprise 11 percent of Congress, up from 7 percent two years ago. Baptists have also seen a modest increased their numbers, from 62 members of Congress to 68. No member of Congress was described as religiously unaffiliated. Five members were from traditions outside Christianity or Judaism.

"The religious composition of Congress shows a continued American religiosity, but one that is decreasingly associated with mainline Protestantism,” says Institute on Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley. "Just as mainline Protestantism no longer occupies the central place in public life as it did a generation ago, we are seeing fewer and fewer elected representatives from those denominations. Solid growth among the percentages of Catholics, Baptists and unspecified Protestants mirrors overall religious membership trends in the United States."

The study concluded that the political overhaul of Congress from the November elections—when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives and narrowed the Democratic majority in the Senate—appears to have had little effect on religious composition.  —By Jennifer LeClaire / photo: Pete Souza, The White House