The Pew Research Center has released data indicating a decline in religious affiliation among Asian Americans.
Broader trend in the U.S.: This decline in religiosity reflects a broader trend in the U.S., where the percentage of adults with no religion has grown from 16% to 29% over a decade. Moreover, 40% of Asian Americans still express a sense of closeness to religious traditions, even if they do not identify with a specific religion.
Family background and cultural ties: The way Americans define religion can also make it challenging to understand or measure Asian belief systems. The data indicates that many Asian Americans feel “close to” religious traditions for reasons such as family background or cultural ties.
For some Asian Americans, their traditions are seen more as philosophies rather than religions. This is particularly true for Buddhism, where 35% of religiously unaffiliated Asian Americans express a sense of closeness to Buddhism for non-religious reasons. Some also feel close to Christianity due to cultural exposure in the…
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