‘God gap’ among GOP, Democrats increases in 119th Congress: report

January 3, 2025

An analysis of the religious affiliation of members of the 119th Congress published by CQ Roll Call shows what it calls a “God gap” despite Catholics and Protestants dominating the religious makeup of both parties.

The Christian Post reports that Roll Call determined that 98% of Republican members identified as Christian compared to just 75% of Democrats and those who caucus with them identifying as Christian.

The report says that 5 GOP members did not identify as Christian while 66 Democrats did not identify as Christian with another 21 Democrats not listing an official religious affiliation.

That difference is what Ryan Burge, a professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University calls the “God gap” in which Republicans feel safer saying they are Christian while Democrats feel safer not giving an answer.

According to the Christian Post, Protestants make up the majority of religious adherents in both parties of Congress while Roman Catholicism was the largest religious affiliation with 83 Democrats and 63 Republicans identifying as such.

The Pew Research Center reports that religious affiliation among members of Congress is higher than the general population of the U.S. with 95% of Congressmen claiming affiliation compared to less than 70% of Americans.

Burge told Roll Call, “Congress represents America as it looked 20 or 30 years ago, not the way it looks today. Incumbency advantage keeps people in office that were elected … some of them in the ’80s, in the ’90s, when America was overwhelmingly a religious country.”

Following last November’s elections, Republicans will begin the 119th Congressional session with a slim majority in the House and Senate.

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