(PeopleImages via Getty Images)
Hindus and Jews are much more likely to have a four-year college degree than Americans in other religious groups, according to Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS).
Seven-in-ten Hindus and 65% of Jews have a bachelor’s degree or more education. That compares with 35% of U.S. adults overall.
How educational attainment varies by religion in the U.S.
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies by religion in the U.S.
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
groupHave a bachelor’s degree or moreAll U.S. adultsall35Hinduother groups70Jewishother groups65Orthodox Christianother groups45Muslimother groups44Buddhistother groups41Mainline Protestantother groups40Religiously unaffiliatedother groups37Latter-day Saint (Mormon)other groups36Catholicother groups35Evangelical Protestantother groups29Historically Black Protestantother groups24
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
On the other end of the spectrum, lower shares of evangelical Protestants (29%) and members of historically Black Protestant denominations (24%) hold college degrees. The shares of college graduates for several other religious groups range from 35% to 45%.
Educational differences by Christian subgroups
Because the RLS is a huge survey, with 36,908 respondents, we can also look at differences within larger religious traditions. For example, we can look at 11 types of evangelical Protestantism, seven groups within mainline Protestantism and two denominations in the historically Black Protestant tradition.
However, the survey did not have enough people in some smaller denominations to show their results separately. For instance, we do not have enough respondents to show separate results for the Church of the Nazarene (in the evangelical tradition), the Disciples of Christ (in the mainline tradition) or the African Methodist Episcopal Church (in the historically Black Protestant tradition).
About this research
This Pew Research Center analysis looks at the shares of college graduates in different religious groups in the United States. We compare those shares across religious groups and with the U.S. general population.
Why did we do this?
Pew Research Center conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and leaders. Studying religion in the United States is a key part of the Center’s long-standing research.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
How did we do this?
This analysis uses findings from 36,908 U.S. adults who participated in the Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. We conducted the survey from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024.
The RLS was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
Evangelical Protestants
Among all evangelical Protestants, 29% have a college degree or more, which is slightly below the national average.
Among the evangelical denominations we could analyze, those with the highest shares of college graduates were the Global Methodist Church (57%) and the Presbyterian Church in America (57%). At the other end of the spectrum, 18% of people in the Assemblies of God have a college degree.
How educational attainment varies among evangelical Protestants
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
* The survey included interviews with 118 members of the Global Methodist Church, with an effective sample size of 80 and a 95% confidence level margin of error plus or minus 10.9 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies among evangelical Protestants
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
otherCollege degree or moreAll U.S. adultsall35All evangelical Protestantsother groups29Global Methodist Church*other groups57Presbyterian Church in Americaother groups57Nondenominational evangelicalother groups44Interdenominational in the evangelical traditionother groups42Nondenominational charismaticother groups39Nondenominational fundamentalistother groups36Lutheran Church-Missouri Synodother groups35Churches of Christother groups25Southern Baptist Conventionother groups23Independent Baptist in the evangelical traditionother groups20Assemblies of Godother groups18
* The survey included interviews with 118 members of the Global Methodist Church, with an effective sample size of 80 and a 95% confidence level margin of error plus or minus 10.9 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
Mainline Protestants
Four-in-ten mainline Protestants are college graduates. That’s slightly higher than the share among U.S. adults overall.
The share of college graduates is especially high among members of the Episcopal Church (67%). Far fewer people who identify with the American Baptist Churches USA are college graduates (13%).
How educational attainment varies among mainline Protestants
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies among mainline Protestants
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
groupCollege degree or moreAll U.S. adultsall35All mainline Protestantsother groups40Episcopal Churchother groups67Presbyterian Church (USA)other groups58Interdenominational in the mainline traditionother groups50United Church of Christother groups48United Methodist Churchother groups42Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)other groups39American Baptist Churches USAother groups13
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
Members of Historically Black Protestant Churches
How educational attainment varies within historically Black Protestantism
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
* The survey included 159 interviews with members of the Church of God in Christ, with an effective sample size of 78 and a 95% confidence level margin of error plus or minus 11.1 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies within historically Black Protestantism
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
groupCollege degree or moreAll U.S. adultsall35All members of historically Black Protestant churchesother groups24National Baptist Convention, USAother groups24Church of God in Christ (COGIC)*other groups10
* The survey included 159 interviews with members of the Church of God in Christ, with an effective sample size of 78 and a 95% confidence level margin of error plus or minus 11.1 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
About a quarter of members of historically Black Protestant Churches (24%) hold a college degree or more. That’s lower than the national average.
Looking at some of the largest denominations in the historically Black Protestant tradition, about a quarter of members of the National Baptist Convention, USA, are college graduates (24%), as are 10% of adults in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).
Catholics
How educational attainment varies among Catholics
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
* Estimates for Asian Catholics are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White and Asian Catholics include those who report only being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic Catholics are of any race. The Religious Landscape Study did not include enough Black Catholics to show their results separately here.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies among Catholics
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
groupCollege degree or moreAll U.S. adultsall35All Catholicsother groups35 White Catholicsother groups43 Hispanic Catholicsother groups20 Asian Catholics*other groups53
* Estimates for Asian Catholics are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White and Asian Catholics include those who report only being one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic Catholics are of any race. The Religious Landscape Study did not include enough Black Catholics to show their results separately here.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
Among U.S. Catholics, 35% are college graduates, matching the share for all U.S. adults. Our previous research has found that Catholics’ social and political views and religious practices tend to vary by race and ethnicity, and the same is true when it comes to education.
For example, 53% of Asian Catholics have a bachelor’s degree or more education, as do 43% of White Catholics. That compares with 20% of Hispanic Catholics.
While the RLS did not include enough Black Catholics to show their results separately, analysis of 2019-20 Pew Research Center survey data shows that 38% of Black Catholics (defined as those who report being one race and are not Hispanic) were college-educated.
Educational differences among the religiously unaffiliated
How educational attainment varies among the religiously unaffiliated
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Share on X
Share on Facebook
How educational attainment varies among the religiously unaffiliated
% of U.S. adults who have a bachelor’s degree or more education
groupCollege degree or moreSome collegeHigh school degreeLess than high schoolAll U.S. adultsall3530287All religiously unaffiliatedunaffiliated3731266 Agnosticunaffiliated5333131 Atheistunaffiliated4830211 Nothing in particularunaffiliated2931318
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ChartDataShare
Among religiously unaffiliated Americans, there are notable differences between those who say they are atheists or agnostics and those who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.”
Agnostics (53%) and atheists (48%) are more likely than U.S. adults overall to have completed college. By contrast, people who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” (29%) are less likely than Americans overall to have a bachelor’s degree.
Note: Refer to our detailed table for more information on educational attainment by religious group. This is an update of a post originally published Nov. 4, 2016. That post was written by former senior researcher Caryle Murphy.
RECOMMENDED CITATION:
Tevington, Patricia. 2026. “Which U.S. religious groups are most highly educated?” Pew Research Center. doi: 10.58094/3e09-yq16.