Asian Americans and Religion: Pew Study Highlights Hindu, Buddhist Diversity
Khyati Y. Joshi
Professor of Education, Fairleigh Dickinson Universit
Posted: 07/19/2012 7:05 am
In a report on Asian America and religion published today, the Pew Research Center offers new data that illuminate the complexity and richness of our pluralistic democracy. Pew's national survey is providing one of the first detailed glimpses into how Hinduism is practiced in the United States.
While temples representing many strains of Hinduism have sprung up across the U.S. since 1965, the Pew report offers the first data on where American Hindus locate themselves on the broad and diverse field of Hindu belief. More than half (53 percent) identify as simply "Hindu," but of the other half, about twice as many (19 percent) identify with the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism as with Shaivite Hinduism (10 percent). Smaller percentages identify with the Hare Krishna tradition (3 percent) or with Vedanta philosophy (2 percent).
The Pew report also indicates how Hinduism is lived in the U.S. -- how it plays out in the daily lives of individuals. This chance to go beyond encyclopedia definitions and scriptural analysis is priceless to a social scientist like me. The Pew report tells us that nearly half (48 percent) of Hindus engage in daily prayer, and another third (32 percent) pray weekly or monthly. More than three quarters (78 percent) keep a puja (altar or shrine) in their home. A similar number (73 percent) believe in yoga as a spiritual practice, and more than four in 10 meditate daily (44 percent) or fast during holy times (41 percent).
To make the most of the Pew report, we need to bear in mind how the framing and phrasing of the survey can affect not only the data but also the conclusions some readers could draw from it. For example, Pew writes that "Asian Americans tend to be less religious," supporting this conclusion by noting that "fewer Asian Americans say religion is very important in their lives" (39 percent of U.S. Asians vs. 58 percent of all U.S. adults), and Asian Americans are less likely to say they pray on a daily basis. Pew also notes that just one-fifth (19 percent) of Asian American Hindus say they attend a house of worship regularly.
more at link
= new reply since forum marked as read
Here are some highlights from the Pew study
Diversity of Religious Composition
Fully half of Asian Americans are unaffiliated, Buddhist or Hindu — more than twice the share of those groups in the general public.
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Most U.S. Asian Buddhists and Hindus are inclusive in their understanding of faith. Most reject the notion that theirs is the one, true faith leading to eternal life (or enlightenment), and the vast majority of both groups say there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion.
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By contrast, most Asian-American evangelical Protestants see their religion as the one, true faith leading to eternal life and say there is only one true way to interpret their religion. They are even more inclined than white evangelicals to take these positions.
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However, there are big differences in partisanship among Asian-American religious groups. Asian-American evangelicals are most likely to identify with or lean toward the GOP …
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… while Asian Americans who are Hindu, religiously unaffiliated and Buddhist are more likely to identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party.
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More information & data at the link here
Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths
http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx
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I knew Hindu Americans were overwhelmingly Democrat, but never realized that it was by such a huge margin. Would it be incorrect to assume that Hindu Americans might be the most "democrat" leaning ethnicity in America, after the African Americans?
PS: Somewhat surprised to see Buddhists not as inclusive as I expected them to be, even though they are still much more inclusive than the general populace. As for the inclusivity of Hindus...I was not surprised at all...I would have been shocked if it was lower
As Hindus have said from the most ancient of days, "Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahudha Vadanti"
"One Truth, Many Paths"
