3. Educational attainment among the religiously unaffiliated
People without a religious affiliation – including atheists, agnostics and those who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” – are among the most educated of the world’s major religious groups. Globally, the vast majority (92%) of unaffiliated adults ages 25 and older have at least some basic education, nearly seven-in-ten (68%) have at least […]
4. Buddhist educational attainment
Buddhists are roughly on par with global averages in their levels of educational attainment. They have 7.9 years of schooling, on average, compared with the global average of 7.7 years for all groups, and 12% have earned post-secondary degrees, compared with 14% of all adults globally. An above-average share of Buddhist adults ages 25 and […]
5. Hindu educational attainment
Hindus have made substantial educational gains in recent decades. Hindu adults (ages 25 and older) in the youngest generation analyzed in the study, for example, have an average of 3.4 more years of schooling than those in the oldest generation. However, Hindus still have the lowest level of educational attainment of any major religious group […]
6. Jewish educational attainment
With an average of 13.4 years of schooling, Jews are the most highly educated of the world’s major religious groups. Nearly all Jewish adults ages 25 and older around the world (99%) have at least some primary education, and a majority (61%) has post-secondary degrees. This high level of education has been the case for […]
7. How religion may affect educational attainment: scholarly theories and historical background
Religion and education, two of humankind’s most ancient endeavors, have long had a close relationship. Historians and social scientists have written about this relationship and about how the two may influence each other. This chapter presents a broad overview of scholarly research into the ways religion can affect educational achievement. It is not an exhaustive […]
Methodology
This report is based on the methodology used in the Pew Research Center’s ongoing study of government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion. The goal of the study was to devise quantifiable, objective and transparent measures of the extent to which governments and societal groups impinge on the practice of religion, and to […]
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