WASHINGTON, D.C., January 7, 2019 (Hindustan Times): Hindus are the most educated — based on college degrees — among US religious groups, followed by Unitarians Universalists, Jews, Anglicans and congregants of the Episcopal Church, according to a new study. They are ahead also of atheists and agnostics. The study by Pew used the four-year college degree as the marker, saying it is generally regarded as the key asset for economic success. Hindus accounted for the largest share of those with college degrees, with 77%. Unitarians, a religious group that says it has no creed and draws inspiration from a range of sacred scriptures — Indian American lawmaker Ami Bera is one — came second with 67%.
The United States doesn’t keep an official count of its population based on religion, but an estimated 0.7% of America’s 325 million population could be Hindus, according to a 2014 study by Pew. There are other estimates that put the number between 2 million and 3 million. While a large number of Hindus in the United States are of Indian descent, coming here from India or diasporas in Africa and the Caribbeans, there other such as Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the US House of Representatives from Hawaii. As the larger Indian American community has made a mark as the wealthiest in the United States and the most educated, so have its largest cohort, the Hindus.