Hindus in US are affluent, educated, socially stable
New York, June 24, 2008 (IANS)

Hindus, who comprise only 0.4% of the US population, are a highly educated and prosperous community, according to a new religion-wise survey in the country. Nearly 43% of Hindus earned more than $100,000 a year, second only to the Jews who boast 46% in this income bracket, while the national average is 18%. Another 22% Hindus had annual incomes between $75,000 and $100,000, and only 9% made less than $30,000, according to the survey the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported Monday.

The high income levels of Hindus correlate well with their high educational levels. About half of them hold postgraduate degrees and a quarter have some college degree. In this respect, they score better than even Jews, who have only 35% with postgraduate degrees and 24% with college degrees.

Hindus in the US also show high social stability, with 79% being married, and only 5% reporting divorced or separated, and none saying they are living with partner out of marriage. 61% of the Hindu population in the country is male, in keeping with the universal trend of men migrating first to another country.

57% of the 220 Hindus in the Pew survey sample believed in god or universal spirit, and only 5 % said they were atheists. Almost 90% said many religions can lead to eternal life, showing high levels of tolerance, in fact the highest among all faith communities. The national average for religious tolerance is not bad either at 70% on this count.

As in India, Hindus constitute a majority among Indian Americans. According to the 2000 census figures, Indian Americans number 2.7 million. Over a million of them are Hindus.