Every two years, Pew Research Centre analyzes the religious affiliation of members of the incoming Congress. This report is the eighth in the series, which started with the 111th Congress that began in 2009.
Data on members of Congress comes from CQ Roll Call, which surveys members about their demographic characteristics, including religious affiliation. Centre researchers then code the data so that Congress can be compared with U.S. adults overall. For example, members of Congress who tell CQ Roll Call they are “Southern Baptists” are coded under the broader “Baptists” category.
Data in this report covers voting members of Congress sworn in on Jan. 3, 2023. This analysis includes 534 members of Congress rather than the full 535 because Congressman Donald McEachin of Virginia’s 4th District was reelected in November but died before the swearing-in; his seat will go unfilled until a February special election.
Data for all U.S. adults comes from multiple sources, including Pew Research Center’s 2021 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS), conducted May 29-Aug. 25, 2021; a survey on the Center’s American Trends Panel conducted Sept. 20-26, 2021; and the Center’s survey of Jewish Americans conducted Nov. 19, 2019-June 3, 2020. Here is more information about how Pew Research Center measures the religious composition of the United States.