Pew Study Finds Hindus Most Highly Educated Religious Group In US

Houston : Hindus are the most highly educated religious group in the United States, followed by Jews, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis examining the educational attainment of America’s major faith communities. Washington-based think tank Pew Research Center said the findings of its 2023-24 Religious Landscape Survey (RLS) are among the most comprehensive surveys of religion and public life in the United States.

Seven-in-ten (70 percent) of Hindus and 65 percent of Jews have a bachelor’s degree or higher; According to the RLS research released to the public on February 19, this rate corresponds to 35 percent of US adults overall.

Other religious groups with higher than average levels of education include Muslims, Buddhists, and Orthodox Christians; More than four in 10 adults each have at least a bachelor’s degree.

Mainline Protestant Christians were also found to be above the national average.

By contrast, the share of college graduates among evangelical Protestants, Catholics and members of historically Black Protestant churches was below the national average, the study found.

According to Pew, nearly four in 10 of the general adult population in the United States have a bachelor’s degree or higher; This underscores the huge educational gap between religious groups.

Immigration and demographic patterns help explain these differences, especially among Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, many of whom came to the United States through higher education or skilled labor, the report said.

A total of 36,908 participants participated in the Religious Landscape Survey of U.S. adults, conducted between July 17, 2023 and March 4, 2024.