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WORLD  95% Of Americans Are Not Familiar With Hindu Culture FROM PRNEWSWIRE USA, Sep 7 (VNN) — New Survey Finds That 95% of Americans are Not Familiar with Hindu Culture Yet Hinduism, The Third Largest Religion In The World is One Of The Fastest Growing In The United States NEW YORK, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new survey designed by RF Binder Research and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, 95 percent of Americans have little or no knowledge of Hindu belief systems or practices, even though the Hindu population in the U.S. has grown ten fold in the last ten years. Although Hindus live in all major cities in the U.S. and total over 1.4 million here, according to the survey, seventy one percent of Americans said they had no contact with their Hindu neighbors. "There appears to be a significant gap between the growth and presence of the Hindu population in the United States, and American's knowledge of Hindu beliefs and practices," commented Dr. B.K. Modi, Director of the Hindu Leaders Forum, the organization who sponsored the survey. The study was commissioned to coincide with the unprecedented visit of a world Yaatra (pilgrimage) that will be traveling to five cities in the United States. Thousands of people are expected to attend the Yaatra in each city, where several of India's foremost spiritual leaders will be speaking, including Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (Muniji) and Swami Divyanand Teerth Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Bhanpura. Yaatras have existed since ancient times to give people a deep sense of identity with the spiritual. Modern Yaatras are unique occasions. Messages of peace, mutual respect and the need to incorporate spiritual principles into daily life are shared within a community. World Yaatras like this one are very rare. "Hindus in America have approximately twenty billion dollars of purchasing power annually yet, according to the survey, 75 percent of Americans are unaware of their positive contributions to the community," stated Dr. Modi. Indians participate in all sectors of society in the United States such as business, science, education, the arts, government and medicine to name a few. High levels of education have enabled Indian Americans to become a productive segment of the U. S. population, with 72.3 percent participating in the work force*. There are over one hundred Hindu temples in the United States, but according to the survey, 98 percent of Americans have never been to one. Over fifty percent of Americans recognize the growing religious diversity in their communities, but the survey finds that there is a need for greater interaction between the Hindu and non-Hindu populations in order to foster familiarity and understanding between cultures. "The goal of the Hindu Leaders Forum is to foster greater awareness of Hinduism's rich heritage and promote genuine understanding among people of different faiths. To that end, we have organized the first world Yaatra (pilgrimage) in over 100 years," commented Dr. Modi. The Yaatra traveling to 40 countries and 50 cities over 5 continents will be coming to the United States on August 20th where it will begin in Miami. After that it will travel to Atlanta on the 21st, Washington, D.C. on the 22nd, Chicago on the 24th and end up in Los Angeles on August 26th. "This Yaatra has two purposes," said Dr. Modi. "For the local Hindu population in these cities, the Yaatra is a way to bring the whole community together to celebrate and acknowledge their common heritage. For the rest of the United States, the purpose of the Yaatra is to demonstrate that Hindus. are a part and parcel of American life and that America is being enriched by our contributions." The telephone survey by Opinion Research Corporation was conducted during the period of August 2-5, 2001, among a national probability sample of 1001 adults comprising 501 men and 500 women 18 years of age and older, living in private households throughout the continental United States. The Vishwa Dharma Prasaar Yaatra, 2001 will travel to 5 continents, 40 countries and 50 cities all over the world, promoting the message that the "world is one family." Within that message there are three main themes: to mobilize all religions and cultures to address critical problems facing their communities, in order to help prevent violence due to ethnic, religious, and sociological differences; to achieve a better understanding of the values and principles of Hinduism, one of the oldest of all the living, historical world religions; and to highlight the contribution of people of Indian origin to their local communities within the United States. The Yaatra is being sponsored by The Hindu Leaders Forum, and supported by local Hindu organizations in the United States. The Hindu Leaders Forum, the commissioner of the survey, was formed in 2001 as a global network of prominent women and men of Hindu background representing a wide variety of professions and from all regions of the world. The Forum convenes globally to address issues affecting the Hindu community as well as to present the Hindu perspective on and Hindu response to key issues of global concern. The Forum organizes programs to foster greater awareness among Hindus of their rich heritage, and provides opportunities for dialogue among the various world religions to promote genuine understanding among people of different faiths in the effort to build greater human unity. The Hindu Leaders Forum was created as a direct outcome of the Millennium Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, which brought religious leaders to the United Nations for the first time and which included the largest ever religious delegation from India at a global interreligious gathering. For more information please visit http://www.hindunet.com/vdpy/  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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