Religious affiliation in the United States Senate

The religious affiliation in the United States Senate reflects the variety of religion in the United States, despite not being in line with the religious affiliation of the general population.

While the religious preference of elected officials is by no means an indication of their allegiance nor necessarily reflective of their voting record, the religious affiliation of prominent members of all three branches of government is a source of commentary and discussion among the media and public. The topic is also of interest to religious groups and the general public who may appeal to senators of their denomination on religious or moral issues facing the United States Senate.

This list reports the religious affiliation of the members of the United States Senate in the 119th United States Congress. In most cases, in addition to specific sources, the senators' religious affiliations are those mentioned by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life at the Pew Research Center, which publishes a report at the beginning of each Congress.^[1][2]

Christians (86)

Protestants (59)

Baptists (12)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Angela Alsobrooks	Democrat	Maryland	Baptist	Denomination: Converge; member of First Baptist Church of Glenarden.[3]
Cory Booker	Democrat	New Jersey	Baptist[4]	Denomination: NBC;[5] raised as a Methodist.[6]
John Boozman	Republican	Arkansas	Baptist[7][8]	Denomination: SBC.
Ted Cruz	Republican	Texas	Baptist[9][10]	Denomination: SBC.
Lindsey Graham	Republican	South Carolina	Baptist[11][12]	Denomination: SBC.
Chuck Grassley	Republican	Iowa	Baptist[13][14]	Denomination: BGC; attends a non-denominational church.[15]
Cindy Hyde-Smith	Republican	Mississippi	Baptist[16]	Denomination: SBC.
Jim Justice	Republican	West Virginia	Baptist	Denomination: ABC.[17][18][19]
James Lankford	Republican	Oklahoma	Baptist[20][21]	Denomination: SBC; former student ministries and evangelism specialist for the BGCO.
Mitch McConnell	Republican	Kentucky	Baptist[22][23]	Denomination: SBC.
Raphael Warnock	Democrat	Georgia	Baptist	Former associated pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, affiliated to NBC; senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, affiliated to PNBC and ABC.
Roger Wicker	Republican	Mississippi	Baptist[24][25]	Denomination: SBC.

Presbyterians (12)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Jim Banks	Republican	Indiana	Presbyterian	Denomination: EPC.
John Barrasso	Republican	Wyoming	Presbyterian[26][27]	Denomination: PCUSA; former Catholic.
Marsha Blackburn	Republican	Tennessee	Presbyterian[28]	Denomination: PCA.
Shelley Moore Capito	Republican	West Virginia	Presbyterian[29]	Denomination: PCUSA.
Chris Coons	Democratic	Delaware	Presbyterian[30][31]	Denomination: PCUSA;[32] attends a Catholic church.[33]
Steve Daines	Republican	Montana	Presbyterian[34]	Denomination: EPC.[35][36]
Deb Fischer	Republican	Nebraska	Presbyterian[37][38]
Josh Hawley	Republican	Missouri	Presbyterian[39]	Denomination: EPC;[39] raised as a Methodist.[40]
Andy Kim	Democrat	New Jersey	Presbyterian[41]
Rand Paul	Republican	Kentucky	Presbyterian[42][43]	Denomination: PCUSA;[44] raised as an Episcopalian.[45][46]
Tina Smith	Democrat	Minnesota	Presbyterian[2]	Swore by an old Heilige Bibel, a family Bible.[47]
Mark Warner	Democrat	Virginia	Presbyterian[48][49]

Non-denominational Evangelicals (6)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Lisa Blunt Rochester	Democrat	Delaware	Non-denominational Evangelical
Ted Budd	Republican	North Carolina	Non-denominational Evangelical[50]
Bill Cassidy	Republican	Louisiana	Non-denominational Evangelical[51]
Rick Scott	Republican	Florida	Non-denominational Evangelical[52]	Former Presbyterian.[52]
Tim Scott	Republican	South Carolina	Non-denominational Evangelical[53][54]
John Thune	Republican	South Dakota	Non-denominational Evangelical[55][56]

Lutherans (6)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Joni Ernst	Republican	Iowa	Lutheran[57][58][59]	Denomination: ELCA.
Martin Heinrich	Democrat	New Mexico	Lutheran[57][60][61]	Denomination: ELCA.
Ron Johnson	Republican	Wisconsin	Lutheran[57][62][63]	Denomination: WELS.
Cynthia Lummis	Republican	Wyoming	Lutheran[57][64]	Denomination: LCMS.
Jeff Merkley	Democrat	Oregon	Lutheran[57][65][66]	Denomination: ELCA.
Tim Sheehy	Republican	Montana	Lutheran[2]

Methodists (5)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Katie Britt	Republican	Alabama	Methodist[67]	Denomination: UMC.[67]
Tom Cotton	Republican	Arkansas	Methodist[68]	Denomination: UMC.[69]
John Kennedy	Republican	Louisiana	Methodist[70]	Denomination: UMC.[70]
Jerry Moran	Republican	Kansas	Methodist[71][72]	Attends a Presbyterian church.[73]
Elizabeth Warren	Democrat	Massachusetts	Methodist[74][75]	Denomination: UMC;[76] attends various churches.[77]

Episcopalians (5)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Bill Hagerty	Republican	Tennessee	Episcopalian[2]
Angus King	Independent (caucusing with Democrats)	Maine	Episcopalian[78][79][80]
Gary Peters	Democrat	Michigan	Episcopalian[78][81][82]
Chris Van Hollen	Democrat	Maryland	Episcopalian[78][83]
Sheldon Whitehouse	Democrat	Rhode Island	Episcopalian[78][84][85]

Restorationists (3)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
John Cornyn	Republican	Texas	Restorationist[86][87]	Denomination: Churches of Christ.
Roger Marshall	Republican	Kansas	Restorationist	Denomination: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[88][89]
Tommy Tuberville	Republican	Alabama	Restorationist[90]	Denomination: Churches of Christ.

Congregationalists (2)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Maggie Hassan	Democrat	New Hampshire	Congregationalist	Denomination: UCC.
Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	Minnesota	Congregationalist[91][92]	Denomination: UCC.

Pentecostals (2)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Kevin Cramer	Republican	North Dakota	Pentecostal	Denomination: ICFG;[93] former Lutheran.
Markwayne Mullin	Republican	Oklahoma	Pentecostal[94]	Denomination: Assemblies of God.[95]

Quakers (1)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
John Hickenlooper	Democrat	Colorado	Quaker[96]	"Raised on the periphery of the Episcopal Church",[97] but misidentified as an Episcopalian in the Pew Report.[2]

Unspecified Protestants (5)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Dave McCormick	Republican	Pennsylvania	Protestant[2]
Ashley Moody	Republican	Florida	Protestant
Chris Murphy	Democrat	Connecticut	Protestant[98][99]	Raised as a Congregationalist.[100]
Jeanne Shaheen	Democrat	New Hampshire	Protestant[101][102]
Todd Young	Republican	Indiana	Protestant[2]

Catholics (24)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Maria Cantwell	Democrat	Washington	Catholic[103][104]
Susan Collins	Republican	Maine	Catholic[105][106]
Catherine Cortez Masto	Democrat	Nevada	Catholic[107][108][109]
Dick Durbin	Democrat	Illinois	Catholic[110][111]
Ruben Gallego	Democrat	Arizona	Catholic[2]
Kirsten Gillibrand	Democrat	New York	Catholic[112][113]
John Hoeven	Republican	North Dakota	Catholic[114][115]
Jon Husted	Republican	Ohio	Catholic
Tim Kaine	Democrat	Virginia	Catholic[116][117]
Mark Kelly	Democrat	Arizona	Catholic[2]	His wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, is Jewish.
Ben Ray Luján	Democrat	New Mexico	Catholic[2]
Ed Markey	Democrat	Massachusetts	Catholic[118][119]
Bernie Moreno	Republican	Ohio	Catholic
Lisa Murkowski	Republican	Alaska	Catholic[120][121]
Patty Murray	Democrat	Washington	Catholic[122][123]
Alex Padilla	Democrat	California	Catholic[124]
Jack Reed	Democrat	Rhode Island	Catholic[125][126]
Pete Ricketts	Republican	Nebraska	Catholic[127]
Jim Risch	Republican	Idaho	Catholic[128][129]
Mike Rounds	Republican	South Dakota	Catholic[130][131]
Eric Schmitt	Republican	Missouri	Catholic[132]
Dan Sullivan	Republican	Alaska	Catholic[133]
Thom Tillis	Republican	North Carolina	Catholic[134]
Peter Welch	Democrat	Vermont	Catholic[135]

Latter-day Saints (3)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Mike Crapo	Republican	Idaho	Latter-day Saint[136][137]
John Curtis	Republican	Utah	Latter-day Saint
Mike Lee	Republican	Utah	Latter-day Saint[138][139]

Jews (9)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Richard Blumenthal	Democrat	Connecticut	Jewish[140][141]
Jon Ossoff	Democrat	Georgia	Jewish[142]
Elissa Slotkin	Democrat	Michigan	Jewish
Bernie Sanders	Independent (caucusing with Democrats)	Vermont	Jewish[143][144]	Non-practicing.
Adam Schiff	Democrat	California	Jewish[145]
Jacky Rosen	Democrat	Nevada	Jewish[146][147]
Brian Schatz	Democrat	Hawaii	Jewish[148][149]
Chuck Schumer	Democrat	New York	Jewish[150][151]
Ron Wyden	Democrat	Oregon	Jewish[152][153]

Buddhists (1)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Mazie Hirono	Democrat	Hawaii	Buddhist[154][155]	School: Jōdo Shinshū; non-practicing.

Unknown or refused to specify (4)

Senator	Party	State	Religion	Notes
Tammy Baldwin	Democrat	Wisconsin	Unknown or refused to specify[2][156][157]	Baptized as an Episcopalian.[158]
Michael Bennet	Democrat	Colorado	Unknown or refused to specify[2][159][160]	Raised in both Jewish and Christian traditions.[161] Believes in God.[162]
Tammy Duckworth	Democrat	Illinois	Unknown or refused to specify[2]	Sometimes acknowledged as Deist. Her father was a Baptist.[163]
John Fetterman	Democrat	Pennsylvania	Unknown or refused to specify	Raised as a Christian, believes in God and attends church regularly.[164]

Comparison with general population

In conjunction with figures derived from the Pew Research Center's 2021 "survey of the religious composition of the United States",^[2][165] the most basic breakdown of the above data indicates that 84% of the Senate identify as Christian (compared with 62% of the population), 9% identify as Jewish (compared with 2% of the population), 4% have unknown religious affiliation or refused to specify it (compared with 2% of the population), 1% identifies with other religions (compared with 5% of the population), while 0% identifies as unaffiliated (compared with 28% of the population). The unaffiliated are extremely under-represented, while Jews, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians are particularly over-represented.

The following table compares reported religious affiliations of senators to religious statistics of the demographics of the United States:

Religion	Group	No. of senators	% of senators	% of population	Relative representation
Christians	Catholics	24 / 100	24%	20%	120%
	Presbyterians	12 / 100	12%	2%	600%
	Baptists	12 / 100	12%	11%	109.09%
	Non-denominational Evangelicals	6 / 100	6%	8%	75%
	Lutherans	6 / 100	6%	3%	200%
	Methodists	5 / 100	5%	3%	166.67%
	Episcopalians	5 / 100	5%	1%	500%
	Restorationists	3 / 100	3%	1%	300%
	Pentecostals	2 / 100	2%	4%	50%
	Other Protestants	8 / 100	8%	8%	100%
	Latter-day Saints	3 / 100	3%	1%	300%
Jews	9 / 100	9%	2%	450%
Other religions	1 / 100	1%	6%	16.67%
Unknown or refused to specify	4 / 100	4%	2%	200%
Unaffiliated	0 / 100	0%	28%	0%

See also

• Demographics of the United States
• Religion in the United States
• Religious affiliation in the United States House of Representatives
• Religious affiliations of presidents of the United States
• Religious affiliations of vice presidents of the United States