Catholics will comprise a record 30.1% of the members of the next Congress.

That’s one of the findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life.

The survey concluded that, by and large, members of Congress are a religious bunch.

“The study finds that there is at least one major difference between Congress and the nation as a whole: Members of Congress are much more likely than the public overall to say they are affiliated with a particular religion,” according to an article about the survey posted on the Pew Forum website.

Says the article, “Only five members of the new Congress (about 1%) did not specify a religious affiliation, according to information gathered by Congressional Quarterly and the Pew Forum, and no members specifically said they were unaffiliated. By contrast, the Landscape Survey found that individuals who are not affiliated with a particular faith make up about one-sixth (16.1%) of the adult population, making this one of the largest ‘religious’ groups in the U.S.”

— Tom McFeely