"Change has come to America". Really?
I am indebted to Pew Global for having the impertinence to ask American members of Congress about their religious affiliation, although our American friends do not tend to the shy and retiring when it comes to declaring their faith. And here are figures for 1961 to date:
There are plenty more bits of data I could play around with, but I will restrain myself. Two things of particular interest lurk in the findings, one being the woeful lack of declared non-believers / 'unaffiliated': 0.9% of Congress compared to 16.9% of the Great American public. If agnostics and so forth do not like the often religious prism through which American politics is filtered, they can only blame themselves for being unorganised.
Further, the faiths of the early settlers from these islands loom very large, compared to the public overall - 25.9 are Methodist / Presbyterian / Anglican-Episcopal, relative to 1.4 of the public. Doubtless William Penn would be a little disappointed that Quakers are under-represented. Most heavily over-represented are Jewish Americans - 8.4% of Congress versus 1.7% of Americans and most under-represented Baptists. at 12.4% to 17.2% of Americans.
This calls for an Emo Phillips joke:
"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" He said, "Baptist!" I said,"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" He said, "Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said,"Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.
There are plenty more bits of data I could play around with, but I will restrain myself. Two things of particular interest lurk in the findings, one being the woeful lack of declared non-believers / 'unaffiliated': 0.9% of Congress compared to 16.9% of the Great American public. If agnostics and so forth do not like the often religious prism through which American politics is filtered, they can only blame themselves for being unorganised.
Further, the faiths of the early settlers from these islands loom very large, compared to the public overall - 25.9 are Methodist / Presbyterian / Anglican-Episcopal, relative to 1.4 of the public. Doubtless William Penn would be a little disappointed that Quakers are under-represented. Most heavily over-represented are Jewish Americans - 8.4% of Congress versus 1.7% of Americans and most under-represented Baptists. at 12.4% to 17.2% of Americans.
This calls for an Emo Phillips joke:
"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" He said, "Baptist!" I said,"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" He said, "Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said,"Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.
Labels: Men and women of the cloth, United States
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on Monday, December 22, 2008 at 9:53 am.
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