Hindus are the most highly educated religious community of the United States of America(USA), says a newly released report by the Pew Research Centre of the US. The Jewish community is next in line, forming as the most educated religious community of the United States after Hindus. The majority of the Hindus and Jews have more than a four year college degree which is equivalent to a graduation or tend to have even higher qualification, says the study.
The Pew Research Centre examined and studied the educational qualification among the major religious communities prevailing in the United States. The findings were part of the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study(RLS). The findings stated that seven in every ten Hindus, which forms around 70 per cent, have a bachelor degree or even higher education. With respect to Jewish community, around 65 per cent of the Jews have a graduation or higher qualification. This is compared to 35 per cent of the overall American adults, says the study.
Other religious groups in the United States including Buddhists, Orthodox Christians, Muslims communities showed above average performance where four in every 10 members of the community tend to hold a bachelor degree. Even the protestants Christians also showed above average results during the survey. Meanwhile, as per the study by the Pew Research Centre, the educational qualifications of Catholic christians, Evangelical Protestants and members from the historically Black Protestant Churches were lower than the national average.
With respect to the overall American adult population, four out of ten individuals hold a bachelor degree or even higher qualification. This testifies the gap in the American society with respect to the educational qualification among the communities. On the other hand, Hindus who are predominantly of Indian-origin form the most highly educated community of the United States. This illustrates the contribution of Indian brains to the American economy. The highly-skilled manpower from India, form the critical line of force in the health, pharmaceutical, academia, IT and other technologically dominant sectors of the United States.
The Hindu workforce in the United States who are largely the immigrants from India, comprise 3 million of the total US population. They are overarchingly represented in the STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) branches along with medicine, management and other high-impact sectors. They also form the highest earning ethnic group in the United States. These Hindu skilled workforce in America thus not just contribute to the US economy, but also act as strong bridges of diaspora strength and aids to consolidate government-to-government bilateral relations.
