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Opening Prayers: Who's Praying for Congress?

By Erin Mershon // December 18, 2012 | 11:23 a.m.
Updated: December 18, 2012 | 11:44 a.m.

Of the nearly 100 chaplains who delivered opening prayers during the 112th Congress, most were Proestant while Muslim and Mormon prayer leaders each had just one representative, according to a C-SPAN roundup.

Eight percent of the chaplains were Jewish. Thirty-seven percent of the chaplains were evangelical Protestants, while mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics made up about 23 and 26 percent, respectively. C-SPAN denoted 4 percent of the chaplains as "other."

The percentages generally follow the faith makeup of the 112th Congress. About 57 percent of lawmakers are Protestant, according to a Pew study. Twenty-nine percent are Catholic, about 3 percent are Mormon, and about 8 percent are Jewish.