Washington: Hindus are the best-educated of all religious groups in North America and Europe, a new study released by Pew Research Centre on Tuesday found.
This is in sharp contrast with the Hindus who live in India, who are among the least-educated of all religious groups worldwide, the study found.
96% have college degrees
Ninety-six per cent of Hindus in the U.S. have college degrees compared to 36 per cent for Christians who are a majority in the country. Among Jews, 76 per cent have college degrees, compared to 54 per cent of Muslims and 53 per cent of Buddhists. “..outside the Asia-Pacific region, where Hindus are a small religious minority, they are much more highly educated —and often are the most highly educated religious group in a particular country.
“For instance, Hindus in the U.S. have 15.7 years of schooling, on average — a full year more than the next most highly educated U.S. religious group (Jews), and nearly three years more than the average American adult (12.9 years).
“Hindus in Europe also are highly educated, averaging 13.9 years of schooling,” the study, titled Religion and Education Around the World, said. “However, Hindus still have the lowest level of educational attainment of any major religious group,” it said.
Globally, Hindus average 5.6 years of schooling and only one-tenth of them have post-secondary degrees. Forty-one per cent of Hindus have no formal education of any kind.
Gender gap
The gender gap in education has been bridged to some extent among Hindus in recent years, but they still have the largest educational gender gap of any religious group.
“On an average, Hindu men have 2.7 more years of schooling than Hindu women, and just over half of Hindu women (53 per cent) have no formal schooling, compared with 29 per cent of Hindu men,” the study said.
