Approximately one in five Americans do not associate themselves with any particular religion but in the 114th Congress, there is only one person that identifies herself as non-religious. Congress underwent quite a change after the recent election with a spate of retirements from both parties, as Republicans took over the Senate. But, in one way, the new host of lawmakers sworn in on January 6 were the same as ever – they were all religious, except one.

About 92 percent of all members in the now Grand Old Party controlled House and Senate associate themselves with Christianity, found a new Pew study. This is only a slight increase from the former 90 percent Christian 113th Congress. More than half the members are Protestant while a third are Catholic, both of which happen to be the most common religious denominations among American adults.

Despite the increasing number of Americans who do not associate themselves with any religion, only  a small number of lawmakers say they are not religious. Reportedly, Kyrsten Sinema is the only person in Congress at the moment who does not identify with any particular religion. However, Sinema also does not consider herself a nonbeliever, saying she prefers a secular way of life. In contrast, approximately 20 percent Americans say they are nonbelievers.

Till date, only two known atheists have served in Congress - Pete Stark of California and Barney Frank of Massachusetts, though the latter did not talk of his lack of belief until after he left office in 2012. As reported earlier, Frank was more comfortable declaring himself the first gay member of Congress in 1987 than coming out as an atheist only recently.

According to Pew’s data, other religious groups including Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are represented in adequate amounts in Congress. While two percent of American adults belong to either one of those faiths, one percent of Congress’ membership comprises of those faiths. However, there are fewer Jews in the 114th Congress as compared to the 113th though five percent of Congress members are Jewish as compared to two percent of the American population.

Photo Credits: Nation of Change