Catholics rise to prominence in Congress – By Paul V. Fontelo (Roll Call) / January 1 2021
Catholics will hold 29 percent of the seats in the 117th Congress, not to mention the speakership and the presidency
Six decades after John F. Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic president, his political ascent still reverberates in the American electorate. Generations of Catholics who had long been marginalized in the political process were emboldened to seek office, prompting a wave of Catholic lawmakers in the decades that followed.
Academic observers attribute the rising influence of Catholics to a new prominence in public life that emerged after Kennedy’s election. The number of Catholics in Congress has risen by roughly 50 percent since the Kennedy administration and in recent years Catholics have consistently been the single largest religious denomination in Congress.
Members of all Christian faiths — a wide swath that includes Baptists, Episcopalians, Mormons and those unaffiliated with a specific denomination — equate to 87 percent of Congress. But it is Catholics, the biggest denomination among the Christian faiths, that will hold 29 percent of the seats in the 117th Congress and two of the most powerful offices in government. With President-elect Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi both Catholic, there will be a power dynamic not seen since the early 1960s when Kennedy and John W. McCormack made history as the first Catholic president and speaker.
“It’s emblematic of this long-term trend of Catholics running for office, getting elected to office, staying in office and being politically successful to the point that you could have so many Catholics in positions of power in Congress,” said Matthew Green, who chairs the politics department at Catholic University of America.
CONTINUE > https://rollcall.com/2021/01/01/catholics-rise-prominence-religion-congress/
