5 facts about the religious makeup of the 116th Congress
The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Aleksandra Sandstrom
Former Senior Copy Editor
Aleksandra Sandstrom is a former senior copy editor focusing on religion at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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Malala’s 2012 shooting came at time of high social hostilities in Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai’s shooting came at a time when social hostilities involving religion were at a high point, both globally and in Pakistan.
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God or the divine is referenced in every state constitution
God or the divine is mentioned at least once in each of the 50 state constitutions and nearly 200 times overall.
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Majority of states have all-Christian congressional delegations
The vast majority of the nation’s federal lawmakers (91%) describe themselves as Christians, compared with 71% of U.S. adults who say the same.
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Faith on the Hill
The share of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christians has been declining for decades, but the U.S. Congress is about as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s.
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Child marriage is rare in the U.S., though this varies by state
About 57,800 minors in the U.S. ages 15 to 17 are married – or five of every 1,000 in that age group. But the rate of child marriage varies widely between states.
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Many countries allow child marriage
Almost all of the world’s nations have laws specifying at which age a couple can marry, and in most of these countries, those under the age of 18 are allowed to wed.
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Most states allow religious exemptions from child abuse and neglect laws
All states prosecute parents whose children come to severe harm through neglect. But in thirty-four states (as well as the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico), there are exemptions in the civil child abuse statutes when medical treatment for a child conflicts with the religious beliefs of parents.
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Women relatively rare in top positions of religious leadership
We looked at nine major religious organizations in the U.S. that both ordain women and allow them to hold top leadership slots.
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Religious groups’ policies on transgender members vary widely
Religious institutions are starting to formally address the participation of transgender people in their congregations, much as they have with the issue of accepting homosexuals.
