The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian, according to a new Pew Research Center assay of congressional information collected by CQ Roll Call.

For the start day of the 116th Congress, here are five facts most the religious affiliation of members of Congress:

1 The religious composition of the new Congress is very different from that of the U.South. developed population. While the number of self-identified Christians in Congress has ticked down slightly, Christians every bit a whole – and peculiarly Protestants and Catholics – are all the same overrepresented in proportion to their share in the general public. Simply by far, the largest difference betwixt the U.Southward. public and Congress is in the share of people who are unaffiliated with a religious grouping. In the general public, 23% say they are atheist, doubter or "nothing in particular." In Congress, only one person says she is religiously unaffiliated – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who was recently elected to the Senate subsequently three terms in the Business firm.

The religious makeup of the 116th Congress

Christians overrepresented in Congress 2 While Congress remains overwhelmingly Christian, the number of not-Christian members has risen to 63. Nigh non-Christian members of Congress are Jewish (34), but there are also ii Buddhists, three Muslims, 3 Hindus, two Unitarian Universalists, one unaffiliated fellow member and eighteen who decline to specify a religious amalgamation. But 2 of the non-Christians – Jewish Reps. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and David Kustoff, R-Tenn. – are Republicans. The rest are Democrats.

3 The largest modify in the new Congress comes in the "unspecified/other" Protestant category, which gained xvi seats. ("Unspecified/other" Protestants include those who say they are Christian, evangelical Christian, evangelical Protestant or Protestant, without specifying a denomination.) Presbyterians and Anglicans/Episcopalians lost the most seats in the new Congress, with each losing nine.

4 There are fewer Christians in the incoming freshman class than in that location are among incumbents. In the new Congress, 96 freshmen volition join 438 incumbents: the largest freshman course since 2011, when the 112th Congress was sworn in. While the share of Christians among the freshman class is still higher than amid the full general public (81% vs. 71%), it is lower than the share amongst incumbents (ninety%). Among the new members are the first two Muslim women in Congress, Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

5 Both chambers of Congress accept roughly similar shares of Christians and not-Christians. But inside those categories, there are some differences, particularly with regard to Catholics, who make up 32% of the Business firm, just merely 22% of the Senate. Additionally, all of the Muslims, Hindus and Unitarian Universalists are in the House.

Correction: A previous version of the written report's dataset had the wrong member of Congress listed for California's 21st District. Freshman Rep. TJ Cox, a Catholic Democrat, represents the commune. Item No. 4 of this post and the chart "The religious makeup of the 116th Congress" accept been updated to reflect this correction.