Demographics of Congress

The new Congress of 2014 is one of the most diverse America has ever seen. It is still, however, dominated by white, male, Christians. The percentage of women in both the House and the Senate is pathetically low when compared to males. Almost 80 percent of the House of Representatives is white and in the Senate, 94 percent falls under the same category. However, racial and gender composition trends show a gradual increase in the number of females and non-white members in Congress. The religious composition of the Congress is not too surprising seeing that we live in a mainly Christian society, thus 92 percent of the Congress is religiously affiliated as Christian. Unlike the racial and gender demographics however, diversity among religious affiliation is decreasing. The Congress of 2014 is less Protestant but still more Christian overall.

The lack of diversity in such a vital branch of our government is highly disappointing, but not too surprising at the same time. When looking at the statistics, it appears that one group of people with  similar backgrounds is better suited for positions in Congress since it dominates both houses. The fact that one group of people, white, Christian males, is running the government is alarming, however. Clearly, power in numbers makes it so that major federal decisions are influenced by bias. In the most diverse nation in the world one would think that power could be evenly distributed among race and religion. That way, interests of all sorts of people in the United States can be addressed. Without diversity in government, only one group of people is catered to. Is that what liberty and justice for all means?