Pew study finds Hindus, followed by Jews, most highly educated religious group in US

Performers at a Diwali celebration in Times Square in New York. (PTI image)

Hindus are the most highly educated religious group in the United States, followed by Jews, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Centre which examined educational attainment across America’s major faith communities.

Washington-based think tank Pew Research Centre said the findings of the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) are one of the most comprehensive surveys of religion and public life in the United States.

Seven-in-ten Hindus (70 per cent) and 65 per cent of Jews have a bachelor’s degree or more education; that compares with 35 per cent of US adults overall, according to the RLS study made public on February 19.

Other religious groups with above-average levels of higher education include Muslims, Buddhists and Orthodox Christians, each with more than four in 10 adults holding 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 lower than the national average, the study said.

According to Pew, the overall US adult population has around four in 10 people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, underscoring the wide educational gaps between religious groups.

The report noted that immigration and demographic patterns help explain these differences, particularly among Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, many of whom came to the US through higher-education or skilled-worker pathways.

There were a total of 36,908 respondents to the Religious Landscape Study of US adults that was conducted between July 17, 2023 and March 4, 2024.