Religious Make-Up of US Congress

PDN

http://pewforum.org/Government/Faith-on-the-Hill--The-Religious-Composition-of-the-112th-Congress.aspx

I found this fascinating. With a few exceptions, the religious affiliation of members of Congress tends to mirror that of US society in general.

The main exceptions are that Catholics and the older mainline Protestant Denominations (Episcoplalian, Methodist, Presbyterian) are represented in Congress to a greater degree than you might expect. This is probably due to socio-economic reasons - on average members of such denominations are wealthier than others.

Also, despite the current tensions between the US and the Islamic world, it appears to be easier for a Muslim to get elected than for an atheist or agnostic.

Also 15% of atheists and agnostics say it is important for members of Congress to have strong religious beliefs!

JonJoeDali

PDN wrote: »

http://pewforum.org/Government/Faith-on-the-Hill--The-Religious-Composition-of-the-112th-Congress.aspx

I found this fascinating. With a few exceptions, the religious affiliation of members of Congress tends to mirror that of US society in general.

The main exceptions are that Catholics and the older mainline Protestant Denominations (Episcoplalian, Methodist, Presbyterian) are represented in Congress to a greater degree than you might expect. This is probably due to socio-economic reasons - on average members of such denominations are wealthier than others.

Also, despite the current tensions between the US and the Islamic world, it appears to be easier for a Muslim to get elected than for an atheist or agnostic.

Also 15% of atheists and agnostics say it is important for members of Congress to have strong religious beliefs!

Maybe if atheists and agnostics spent less time waffling to each other on the interweb (or doing some charitable works for example), they might have a better chance at getting their hands on the levers of power.

fatmammycat

Right, because Atheists don't do ANY charity. :rolleyes:
PDN, that's not really that much of a surprise, America is a deeply religious country, stands to reason the religious have such high representation.

JonJoeDali

fatmammycat wrote: »

Right, because Atheists don't do ANY charity. :rolleyes:
PDN, that's not really that much of a surprise, America is a deeply religious country, stands to reason the religious have such high representation.

No doubt they do, but they're not organised and don't get the same recognition for it. I'd love to see a group of atheists or agnostics getting together to do some charitable works. We could even have proper intellectual discussion between this atheist group and one of the big religions.

Fanny Cradock

JonJoeDali wrote: »

Maybe if atheists and agnostics spent less time waffling to each other on the interweb (or doing some charitable works for example), they might have a better chance at getting their hands on the levers of power.

:rolleyes: I'm quite sure there are plenty of good, charitable atheists and agnostics out there.

fatmammycat wrote: »

PDN, that's not really that much of a surprise, America is a deeply religious country, stands to reason the religious have such high representation.

On the surface - yes.

But I quite like the quote attributed to D. Michael Lindsay. "Religion in America is, indeed, 3000 miles wide and only three inches deep". It the shallow religion of "God bless America (and her various domestic and foreign interests)" that I most often associate with mainstream American piety.

fatmammycat

JohnJoedali, I, and a number of other people who hold no truck with religion do MANY works of charity a year, but we don't need to declare ourselves atheists or demand special recognition to do so or be decent people.

Fanny Cradock, it's a vast country to be sure with all walks of piety abounding, but a belief in God is cornerstone for the majority, even if they don't live up to the belief in a significant way on a daily basis. For a lot of people the idea of others not believing in their version of God is actually unthinkable, let alone appoint a person of such views into political power. I was all over North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee recently and it really wowed me just how deeply ingrained church is there, I'd never seen anything like it, don' even ask me about the radio stations and the signs dotted thither and yon.

wolfsbane

fatmammycat wrote: »

JohnJoedali, I, and a number of other people who hold no truck with religion do MANY works of charity a year, but we don't need to declare ourselves atheists or demand special recognition to do so or be decent people.

Fanny Cradock, it's a vast country to be sure with all walks of piety abounding, but a belief in God is cornerstone for the majority, even if they don't live up to the belief in a significant way on a daily basis. For a lot of people the idea of others not believing in their version of God is actually unthinkable, let alone appoint a person of such views into political power. I was all over North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee recently and it really wowed me just how deeply ingrained church is there, I'd never seen anything like it, don' even ask me about the radio stations and the signs dotted thither and yon.

Yes, I think the difference between them and us in the British Isles is their tradition/culture of religion. Admittedly the island of Ireland has some of that still, but we are well on the way to English secularism. But American religion is as Fanny points out - very shallow. Or from another angle, they follow the religion they make up as they go - doctrines and practices are changed to suit ones current thinking. Seems to be few who would consider themselves bound by the Book.

_________________________________________________________________
Matthew 15:7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

PDN

fatmammycat wrote: »

I was all over North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee recently and it really wowed me just how deeply ingrained church is there, I'd never seen anything like it, don' even ask me about the radio stations and the signs dotted thither and yon.

That's the Bible Belt - hardly typical of the nation as a whole.

lmaopml

There are probably many Americans who have very great faith...Religion or those of no religion is a mixed bag over there, just like this forum actually ( which is rather cool no? )...

One thing they got right is religious freedom...even if it's an uphill struggle, at least it's on an equal footing. The Americans have some things worth tipping the cap at yet...'Idealism' is both their downfall and their trump card.

Long may they struggle, they might teach us something in the long run..

GreenMantis

Classic George Carlin routine about 'God Bless America'. NSFW for language and heresy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuOBf-39t64

I am an ex-Catholic current Unitarian living in the USA. AMA