Fewer Hindus declare religion in US: Study

Data released by the US Census Bureau has a startling finding: When it comes to religious self-identification, the number of people declaring themselves Hindus has dropped by nearly a quarter since 2001.

In 2001, the number was 7.66 lakh, up from 2.27 lakh in 1990. But in 2008, it dipped to 5.82 lakh. Among all the major religions surveyed, Hindus and Jews were the only groups showing a decline.

What makes the data puzzling is that the number of Indians getting residency in the US has risen sharply – from 3.83 lakh between 1991 and 2000 to 4.72 lakh between 2001 and 2007.

The US Constitution prohibits the Census Bureau from surveying religion and the data in its annual abstract is derived from the American Religious Identification Survey 2008, conducted by Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. With more than 54,000 respondents, this is the largest religion-based survey in the US.

Dr Ariela Keysar, principal investigators of the survey, said: “When we asked them, ‘What is your religion, if any?’ they chose ‘None’. They may perceive it as a culture, not necessarily as a religion.”

Ishani Chowdhury, Director of Public Policy for the Hindu American Foundation, said: “I wouldn’t take a look at this survey as a final answer.” She pointed out that temples in the US have rising memberships.

Hinduism Today estimated that the number of Hindus in the country rose from 11 lakh in 1997 to 22.9 lakh in 2009. In its 2008 study, the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said Hindus form about 0.4 per cent of the US population.