92% of 114th Congress Identifies as Christian
Last week, as the 114th Congress started a new session, lawmakers began anew in their leadership roles to serve the country and work for the best interests of the American people.
And, according to new research, the new Congress is more “heavily religious” than ever. A Pew study found that close to 92 percent identify as Christian—nearly 20 percent more than the general U.S. population. Just one member of Congress identifies as religiously unaffiliated.
American Pastors Network (APN, www.americanpastorsnetwork.net) President Sam Rohrer, a former lawmaker, says that the country’s leaders must strive for the godly leadership that should go along with their religious identifications, including respect for God’s law and a commitment to the rule of law.
“If the Pew study is true and we don’t soon see radical changes in legislation coming from Congress, then it suggests that many who identify as Christian may not hold a biblical worldview,” said Rohrer, who is also President of the Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN, www.papastors.net). “Otherwise unborn life would immediately be protected, marriage defined by God would be upheld, religious liberties would be protected and the rule of law would be respected.”
Rohrer recently sat down with Gary Dull, APN board member and Executive Director and Vice President of PPN, and David Kistler, President of the North Carolina Pastors Network (NCPN, www.ncpastors.net), a chapter of APN, to talk about godly leadership on “Freedom Focus,” a radio program from the Faith and Freedom Institute committed to encouraging Americans to return to the values of our founders as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bible.
“Performance in a position of leadership is not just based on competence from a standpoint of making sure that the process is efficient and transparent,” Rohrer said, “and some past leaders have violated and distorted their own policies by interjecting their own personal opinions so extraordinarily that it deprived other members of their rightful duty to speak to and address issues.”
Kistler also added that godly leadership involves keeping promises rather than making deals, and always working in the best interest of one’s constituents.
In the Pew study, of the 535 members of Congress, 57.2 percent identify as Protestant, 30.7 percent identify as Roman Catholic, and 5.2 percent of Congress is Jewish. Nine representatives refused to answer the survey.
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