The 118th U.S Congress has officially opened, with a total of 534 members in both chambers.

According to a Pew Research Center study, 88% of these members identify as Christian. The largest Christian group in the 118th Congress is made up of 148 Catholics, which represent 28% of the members of Congress, despite Catholics only representing 21% of the U.S population. This number is 10 fewer congressmen than in the 117th Legislature.

On the other hand, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in Congress are represented in a proportion that is almost the same as their respective percentages of the American population (approximately 1% or less each one). Among the non-Christian groups, Jews are the largest minority in Congress with 33 (6 % of the total), which is a disproportional representation given the number of Jews in the United States, which is just 2%.

In terms of religious affiliation breakdown of the Congress, Protestants represent the largest group with 303 members, followed by Catholics with 148 members. The next largest group is Methodists with 31 members and Episcopalians with 22. In addition, there are 8 Orthodox Christians, 9 Mormons, 3 Muslims, 2 Hindus and 2 Buddhists in Congress.

It should be noted that Christians predominate in both the Senate and House of Representative, with a Protestant majority similar in both chambers (57% in the House, 56% in the Senate). In addition, Catholics represent a slightly greater proportion of members in the House than in the Senate (28% and 26%, respectively) and there are eight Orthodox Christians in the House but none in the Senate.

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