james_davis_nicoll | A meaningless and fundamentally broken table

Everyone knows that the fraction of American Presidents who were Catholics is nothing as high as the number of Americans who are Catholics. Ever wonder which religions are over-represented amongst American Presidents?

Assuming this table can be taken at face value:

Religious affiliation of US Presidents in order of the degree to which their religion is over-represented amongst US Presidents if they had all been elected today and not in some past era when demographics were different:

Denomination        Number of      Percent of       Percent of              Ratio:
                    Presidents     Presidents       Current U.S. Pop.       % of Pres.
                                                                            to % of Pop. 

Dutch Reformed          2             4.8%             0.1%                   48.0 
Unitarian               4             9.5%             0.2%                   47.5 
Disciples of Christ     3             7.1%             0.4%                   17.8 
Episcopalian           11            26.2%             1.7%                   15.4 
Presbyterian           11            26.2%             2.8%                    9.4
Congregationalist       2             4.8%             0.6%                    8.0 
Quaker                  2             4.8%             0.7%                    6.9 
Jehovah's Witness       1             2.4%             0.6%                    4.0 
Methodist               5            11.9%             8.0%                    1.5 
Baptist                 4             9.5%             8.0%                    1.2 
Catholic                1             2.4%            24.5%                    0.1 

TOTAL                  42            100%            57.0%

[Fixed to correct Eisenhower's affiliation, to correct some math errors and to take into account reader comments]

Oddly, all but one of these denominations is batting out of its league. I suppose that is a reflection of religious diveristy and the uneven distribution between sects of interest in and possibility of achieving higher office.

I expected more Quakers.

I have not verified the numbers I am using and since I spotted one error in the original there may well be others.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And then I remembered who the two Quaker Presidents were: Herbert Hoover and Richard M. Nixon.

And IIRC the only two engineer Presidents were Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter.

The Quaker meeting house in Washington makes a big deal of Hoover and really doesn't mention Nixon at all. Though I think he might have been one of those weird[1] quakers with preachers and services.

[1]Less prejudiced people call them programmed quakers.

The latter of whom was read out of meeting, for sound theological reasons (well before Watergate).

A meaningless and fundamentally broken table

I expected more Quakers.

Re: I expected more Quakers.

Re: I expected more Quakers.

Re: I expected more Quakers.