Baptists in the 111th Congress
by Aaron Douglas Weaver
Baptists in the United States make up the largest branch on the Protestant family tree. According to a 2008 religious landscape study conducted by the Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, Baptists account for one-third of all Protestants and 17.2 percent (38.7 million) of the overall adult population in the United States. Baptists make up a plurality (41 percent) of the “Evangelical Tradition,” 64 percent of the “Historically Black Tradition,” and 10 percent of the “Mainline Tradition.”
A survey released in December by the Pew Forum, based on data from the Congressional Quarterly, found that a majority of the new 111th Congress are Protestants. Of the 239 Protestants in the 111th Congress, 66 or 12.4 percent are Baptists. The Pew Forum survey notes that Congress as a whole is much more religiously diverse now than in decades and includes Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons, Unitarians, Seventh-Day Adventists, and a Christian Scientist.
Baptists who are the second-largest religious group after Catholics are actually underrepresented in the 111th Congress. Baptists 12.4 percent share of Congress is significantly less than their 17.2 percent share of the national adult population. Meanwhile, Methodists make up 10.2 percent of Congress while only accounting for 6.2 percent of the national adult population. Despite the increased religious diversity, the percentage of Baptists in Congress has changed very little (+.7 percent) in the pasty fifty years. The 87th Congress (1961-1963) included 11.7 percent Baptists. Nearly twenty years later, Baptists in the 96th Congress (1979-1981) accounted for 10.3 percent of Congress. This number increased to 13.1 percent by the 105th Congress (1999-2001).
The 100-member Senate of the 111th Congress is comprised of eight Baptists including seven Republicans and just one Democrat. Four of the eight Baptist Senators are members of Baptist churches that affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists in the Senate include John McCain (R-AZ), North Phoenix Baptist Church; Roger Wicker (R-MS), First Baptist Church Tupelo; Tom Coburn (R-OK), First Baptist Church Muskogee; and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Corinth Baptist Church, Seneca. As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, the SBC includes slightly over 15 million Baptists or 39 percent of Baptists in the United States.
Senator Charles “Chuck” Grassley (R-IA) is a member of Baptist General Conference-affiliated Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The BGC, a national evangelical Baptist body with roots in Swedish Pietism, is comprised of 194,000 members in 950 churches located throughout the United States. The lone Baptist Democrat in the Senate, Robert Byrd (D-WV), is a member of Crab Orchard Missionary Baptist Church which is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA. Formerly known as the Northern Baptist Convention, ABC-USA is an ethnically diverse “mainline” denomination made up of 1.4 million Baptists in 5,780 churches that affiliates with the National Council of Churches.
Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) is a member of Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Northminster is aligned with both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a renewal movement among Baptists that includes individuals and approximately 1,900 affiliated churches, and the Alliance of Baptists, an alliance of individuals and 125-affiliated congregations. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who according to data from the Congressional Quarterly is a “Baptist” now identifies with Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Southeast Christian Church is an evangelial megachurch associated with the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Senator McConnell was formerly a long-time member of Crescent Hill Baptist Church also in Louisville.
The House of Representatives includes 58 self-identified Baptists from 26 states. Baptists in the House of Representatives are equally divided with 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans. House Baptists are also racially diverse with African-Americans accounting for 33 percent of Baptists in the lower chamber. However, only 10 percent of Baptists in the House are female. There is also great denominational diversity among House Baptists. Forty-seven percent of House Baptists (27 Representatives) hold membership in a Baptist church that affiliates with the Southern Baptist Convention. African-American Baptists who are part of the “Historically Black Church Tradition” comprise 33 percent of House Baptists (19 Representatives). Historically black Baptist denominations represented include the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., National Missionary Baptist Convention of America and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Other Baptist groups represented include the American Baptist Churches USA (3), Alliance of Baptists (2), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (2), Conservative Baptist Association of America (1), North American Baptist Conference (1), Independent Fundamental Baptist (1) and Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (1).
Included among the Baptists in the 111th Congress are two ordained Baptist ministers (Ed Towns (D-NY) and Bobby Lee Rush (D-IL)), current and former Deacons and Sunday School teachers (Gregg Harper (R-MS), Bobby Bright (D-AL), John Barrow (D-GA), John Fleming (R-LA)), a renowned Civil Rights leader (John Lewis, D-GA), staunch proponents and opponents of the Iraq War, anti-abortion rights Democrats, an anti-online gambling Democrat and a pro-medical marijuana Republican. Three of the top leaders in the 111th Congress are Baptist. They include Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) the House Majority Leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the Senate Minority Leader and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) who serves as Senate President Pro Tempore. Seven members of the 111th Congress’s freshmen class identify as Baptist. For a complete list of Baptists in the 111th Congress and their church membership information, see below.
*The list of Baptists in the 111th Congress was obtained from the Pew Forum via the Congressional Quarterly. Members of Congress supplied their religious affiliation information directly to the Congressional Quarterly.
**Church membership information is based on independent research and in some instances correspondence with staff members of the individual Senators and Representatives.
***This report lists Rep. Bobby Lee Rush (D-IL) as an ordained Baptist minister. However, based on data from the Congressional Quarterly, Rush no longer self-identifies as a Baptist. Instead, Rush lists his religious affiliation as simply “Christian.” Since he was ordained in a Baptist church, I still count Rush as an “ordained Baptist minister.” Rush is the only practicing minister in the 111th Congress.
****This report does not include Senator-designate Roland Burris (D-IL) who various sources have listed as Baptist.
*****John McCain is “technically not a member of North Phoenix Baptist Church. However, North Phoenix is his “church home” (the church he attends) as Baptists like to say.
******Baptists in the 111th Congress is the research project of Aaron Weaver of www.thebigdaddyweave.com. No outside assistance has been given. This list will be updated as information regarding church membership is given by congressional staff members that I personally contacted.
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Thanks for this research, Aaron. You list John Lewis as an ordained Baptist minister, but his memoir says differently. Although he went to seminary, he never became ordained since his civil rights work took over. Did he later become ordained?
So, John McCain has finally decided that he is Baptist and not Episcopalian? Has he been baptized as an adult?
I think its funny that Mitch McConnell continues to keep his membership at Crescent Hill BC–they never see him and, if he does show up, the sermons must make him really squirm! I doubt many of his fellow members vote for him.
McConnell’s support is largely outside Louisville–the most liberal place in the Commonwealth.
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists is not a denomination–just a network of gay friendly Baptist churches, like the BPFNA has a network of Baptist churches which focus on peacemaking.
Bobby Rush was a Baptist minister? Before or after he was a Black Panther?
Barbara Lee is a strong member of the Baptist Peace Fellowship and, in ‘06, was given an award for her courage and leadership in opposing war and working for positive peace. Her congregation is a partner congregation in the BPFNA and her pastor has been a keynote speaker. I mention her often to skeptical foreigners as proof positive that sometimes U.S. voters can get it right!
BTW, Aaron, since you were once an intern for Rep. Lewis, would you consider helping me form a netroots campaign to get Rep. Lewis to consider running for the U.S. Senate in ‘09? The Democratic bench in GA is not very deep, but I think Lewis would have a real shot. Isakson(R-GA) is not a total disaster like Shameless Chambliss, but neither is he all that exciting. His poll numbers show that he is vulnerable–but only if GA Dems unite around a strong candidate.
(BTW, if Lewis had run for Chambliss’ seat, he would have won. If it had come to a run-off, the African-Americans who had turned out strongly for Obama would not have stayed home.)
Lewis would be a strong, progressive voice in the Senate and he would increase both the Baptist Democratic presence (Byrd may soon die in office) and the African-American presence, there.
Can we get a “Draft Lewis” movement going?
I just heard that FL’s Kendrick Meeks is considering running for the open Senate seat when Mel Martinez (R-FL) retires in ‘10. However, that will probably pit him against Jeb Bush who is still popular in FL. CFO Alex Sink could be a stronger Democratic pick for that race.
Meeks might want to hold off until ‘12 when Ben Nelson (D-FL) is planning to retire. Jeb will either be in the senate or have lost and need to get used to being a private citizen. And it’s a presidential election year with Obama on the ticket, so African-American turnout will increase. In those circumstances, Meeks will have a better chance.
But I think FL is ready to send an African-American to the Senate–as they already did with a Cuban-American. If Meeks were not to have to run against Jeb Bush, I think his chances would be good. FL is still a purple swing state, but it is blueing.
Thanks for the correction on Lewis. I know he’s preached many sermons over the years. And I once visited American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. But I guess Lewis was never ordained.
The info from the Congressional Quarterly is based on self-identification. So, McCain is now calling himself a Baptist. I’d suspect he isn’t the only one on that list who hasn’t been baptized.
Like McConnell, from what I’ve been told, it’s been a while since Steny Hoyer has seen the inside of the Alliance church to which he belongs.
I’d like to see Lewis run for Senate. I’m not sure that he has any interest. Back in 2002, Lewis had an opportunity to run against Isakson (who was at the time the Congressman of the district next-door to Lewis’s). This was before I interned. But from what I remember, many many Dems tried to get Lewis to consider running. He passed. And Denise Majette ran. If I were to hear a whisper or rumor that Lewis was interested, I’d help. He’d make a great Senator.
I’m hoping that Obama’s win will encourage more African Americans (and other minorities) to run statewide. In 2002 only one African-American had been elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction–Carol Mosley-Braun (D-IL) and most African-American politicians lost if they ventured outside “majority-minority” districts. I’m really hoping that changes, now and Lewis could help make it so–although I wish he had run against Shameless Chambliss.