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| Walker |
May 31, 2007 - Every Missouri lawmaker who responded to a recent survey said he or she is religious. The findings are part of a series of reports produced by University of Missouri journalist Timothy Walker and broadcast on KOMU-TV.
Walker completed the four-part series about
religion and the role it plays in the decisions
and lives of Missouri lawmakers as an independent
study during spring 2007. He will be a graduate
research assistant with the Center for Religion,
the Professions & the Public in 2007-08.
See
survey breakdown
State of Faith: Religion in the Legislature
• Article
and video
State of Faith: The Numbers
• Article
and video
State of Faith: More Than Faith
• Article
and video
State of Faith: Church and State
• Article
and video
According to Walker's findings, 26 percent
of the Missouri Legislature reported being
Catholic, 20 percent reported being Baptist
and 8 percent reported being Methodist.
Some 30.5 percent of the legislature reported
being nondenominational Christian, Presbyterian,
Episcopalian/Anglican, Lutheran, Assemblies
of God, Congregational, Jewish, Pentecostal,
Protestant, Christian Methodist Episcopal,
Church of the Nazarene, Muslim, Church of
Christ, Church of God or Mormon. Two percent
of those defined themselves as "other"
or refused to answer. Some 15.5 percent
did not respond.
The breakdown mirrors, nearly exactly,
the population of Missouri as cited in a
recent City University of New York graduate
center survey that found more than 75 percent
of Missourians consider themselves Christians,
with Baptists and Catholics the largest
Christian denominations in the state.
The Missouri Legislature has 34 senators and 164 House members.
"It's a very strong measure whether you have a strong faith or not .... I think if you tried to run as an agnostic, if you will, you'd have trouble getting elected in either party," Sen. John Loudon, R-St. Louis County, is quoted in Walker's report.
Kurt Jefferson, professor of political science at Westminster College, is cited saying of religion: "It's not something that we can pretend doesn't exist, it's not something we can write away."
The MU Center for Religion, the Professions & the Public is dedicating 2007-08 to an examination of "Religion & Politics," including a film and lecture series. Its fellow Pew Center of Excellence, The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, recently launched a popular series of profiles detailing 2008 presidential candidates' faith backgrounds and beliefs.
KOMU, which is affiliated with both NBC and CNN, is the only university-owned commercial television station in the United States that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students attending the Missouri School of Journalism. The station has received numerous awards for its on-air news coverage of mid-Missouri.
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