The U.S. Congress has three Hindus, three Buddhists and two Muslims and it is only marginally less Christian than the previous Congress, says a Pew analysis of the religious affiliation of members.
While Indian-American representation has grown fivefold, Hindu representation has grown three times in Congress that inaugurated this week, compared to the previous one.
The 115th Congress has six Christians less compared to the 114th, a marginal decline from 91.8 per cent to 90.7 per cent, according to the analysis based on how the members have declared their religious affiliations.
There is only one member who has declared herself religiously “unaffiliated”, whereas 23 per cent of the American general population declare themselves to be so. Kyrsten Sinema, a Republican from Arizona, has said she is unaffiliated.
Ami Bera from California, son of Gujarati parents, has declared Unitarian Universalism as his religion.
There are 23 members of Congress who were born in a foreign country, including Pramila Jayapal, who was born in Chennai, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was born in Delhi. Mr. Krishnamoorthi from Illinois and Rohit ‘Ro’ Khanna from California are the two new Hindus added to Congress.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi took his oath on the Bhagavat Gita , while Mr. Khanna, though a practicing Hindu, used the U.S Constitution. Ms. Jayapal has not declared a religion. Kamala Harris, the first Indian-American Senator, whose mother immigrated from Chennai, is a Baptist.
“Protestants, Catholics and Jews, have greater representation in Congress than in the general population,” the Pew study found. Jews make up 2% of the U.S. adult population but account for 6% of Congress, with 30 members – most of them Democrats.
Minority groups appear to have a better shot at politics in the Democratic Party. Ninety-nine per cent of Republican members are Christians, compared to 80 per cent among Democrats.
They are all Democrats
All Indian-American members are Democrats, and so is Tulsi Gabbard. All Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims in Congress are Democrats.
Ms. Gabbard – who is not Indian-American – was the only Hindu in the previous Congress. She was the first Hindu to be elected in 2012, while the first Indian American Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, was a Sikh. He was elected in 1957.
A recent book on Indian-Americans by Devesh Kapur, Sanjoy Chakravorty and Nirvikar Singh had noted how religion plays a role in Indian participation in American politics.
“The only Indian-American Republicans of consequence are the ones who either converted to Christianity or were already Christians. There is no way you can stand for governor in a southern American state and win if you are not a Christian. That essentially means that one party becomes your only avenue. That itself is a limiting factor,” the authors had said.
For instance, Nikki Hailey, who will be the U.S ambassador to the UN under the incoming Donald Trump administration was born Sikh but converted to Christianity.
And the Buddhists
Colleen Hanabusa, newly elected Democratic Representative from Hawaii, has brought the number of Buddhists in Congress from two to three. The other two are Senator Mazie K. Hirono from Hawaii, and Rep. Hank Johnson from Georgia.
Representatives Keith Ellison from Minnessota and Andre Carson from Indiana are the only two Muslims among 535 members of Congress. While there are more Muslims (0.9 per cent) than Hindus (0.7 %) and Buddhists (0.7 %) in the general population, they have fewer members in Congress.
