Introduction:
The purpose of this survey is to explore the minds of young Indian Americans (ages 18-24) at Boston University regarding Indian culture, religion, and how the two affect their lives. The survey consists of thirty questions that are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Approximately sixty Indian Americans responded to the survey. Results and analysis follow.

Results:

Quantitative Results:

• 70% were born in the United States.
• 85% speak an Indian language.
• 85% of those born in the United States speak an Indian language.
• 45% speak Hindi.
• 45% speak Gujarati.
• 19% of those who speak an Indian language actually speak two or more Indian languages.
• 82% classify themselves as religious persons (either 3, 4, or 5 on a 1-5 scale where 1 is irreligious and 5 is very religious).
• 78% are Hindus.
• 6% are Jains.
• 6% are Sikhs.
• 6% are Christians.
• 3% are Muslims.
• 86% received their primary religious teaching from only family.
• 14% received their primary religious teaching from a combination of family, temple classes, and gurus.
• 65% are active participants in an Indian cultural or religious group.
• 92% participate in some kind of religious activities, such as devotional prayers, meditation, worship services, or reading religious texts.
• 3% participate in all four of the religious activities mentioned above.
• 73% believe that they are "Americanized."
• 50% report that religion affects their choice of partners for intimate relations.
• 23% report that religion affects their career choices.
• 15% report that religion affects their choices of friends.
• 18% report that religion exerts an effect on all: choices of friends AND career AND partners in intimate relations.
• 75% believe that religion and culture are intertwined.
• 41% have sex.
• 36% do not have sex, and report that religion was not a factor in this decision.
• 23% do not have sex and report that religion was a factor in this decision.
• 75% drink alcohol.
• 8% do not drink and report that religion was a factor in this decision.
• 16% do not drink and report that religion was not a factor in this decision
• 23% do illegal drugs.
• 14% do not do illegal drugs and report that religion was a factor in this decision.
• 63% do not do illegal drugs and report that religion was not a factor in this decision.
• 14% smoke cigarettes.
• 10% do not smoke and religion was a factor.
• 76% do not smoke and report that religion was not a factor in this decision.
• 95% think that culture should be passed down to children.
• 81% think that passing down language to children is important.
• 60% think that passing down religious stories to children is important.
• 60% think that passing down religious teachings to children is important.
• 59% think that passing down religious practices to children is important.
• 75% believe that there are adequate resources for one to learn about Hinduism/Indian culture on one’s own.
• 58% believe that they are less religious than people in India.
• 17% are bothered by their own perception of being less religious than people in India.
• 33% would like to have changed something about their upbringing in reference to their Indian heritage.
• 50% of those who would like to have changed something about their upbringing wanted more exposure to their culture and religion.
• 30% of those who would like to have changed something about their upbringing wish they had learned an Indian language.
• 20% of those who would like to have changed something about their upbringing wish they had been more receptive to their culture and religion while growing up.

 

 

Qualitative Trends:

• Most Indian Americans were exposed to their religion via family who took them to temples or provided them with comic books on Hindu mythology. Also, they learned by example (from their family) to observe a regular routine of rituals and prayers and to sing different bhajans (prayer songs).

• Most Indian Americans who did not join a particular Indian or Hindu organization did not join because of the perception that one did not have to be in such a group in order to be religious or cultural. Also, some thought that these groups were more like social clubs rather than true religious organizations.

 
• Most Indian Americans’ perceive "Americanization" as both a good and a bad thing. Being "Americanized" was good if one was able to retain one’s Indian culture and values while also taking the best of American culture. However, "Americanization" was considered bad if one lost touch with one’s Indian heritage in the process.

 
• Most Indian Americans believe that Indian religion and culture are intertwined in several ways. Some believe that the philosophy of a religion is integrated into daily life; others believe that religion is the basis of cultural values. Cultural elements such as music, clothes, festivals, and customs are thought to derive from religion.

• The overwhelming majority of Indian Americans wish to pass down their religion and culture in the form of language, stories, or teachings to their future children. The desire to pass down culture and religion stems from the feeling that Indian heritage is a critical force in making them who they are today. It forms their identity, morals, and values. This sentiment existed among all those who were surveyed regardless of how religious or cultured they considered themselves to be.

 
• Those who thought that there are not adequate resources in America for one to accurately learn Hinduism and Indian culture on one’s own felt that there should be more temples across the United States. Respondents also believed there should be more media coverage of Indians in America in order to reveal more Indian culture to the public.

 
• Most Indian Americans believe that the religion and culture practiced in America is different from the religion and culture practiced in India. They attributed this difference to the fact that Indian Americans are not in their original environment and therefore learn a westernized version of their religion and culture. Also, a majority believes that they are less passionate and more perfunctory about practicing religion than the way people practice in India. In Stephen Warner’s and Judith Wittner’s Gatherings in the Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration, Prema Kurien claims that Indian immigrants experience a combination of inventing new religious activities that are not present in India and a strengthening of old traditions and practices. According to the results of this survey, first generation Indian Americans do feel they experience a different (invented) version of Hinduism, however do not feel that they are as or more religious than the people living in India. This discrepancy could be attributed to intergenerational differences. Indian immigrants may have a stronger sense of religiosity (as indicated by Kurien) after their arrival to the United States, but this does not necessarily have to apply to first generation born Indian Americans.

• Surprisingly, only a small percentage of Indian Americans are bothered by their own perception of being less religious than people in India. This was because the majority of respondents feel that being less religious is expected since they are living in America. However, they believed that being "less religious/less cultured" was worth the benefits that living in America is providing them.

Discussion of Quantitative Results & Overall Conclusions:
This survey addressed the issues of how Indian Americans view themselves as well as how religion and culture affect their life choices, if at all. The demographics of those surveyed are as follows: seventy percent of those interviewed were born in the United States, seventy-eight percent are Hindus, eighteen percent Jains, Christians, or Sikhs, and three percent are Muslims. On a scale from one to five, with one being "irreligious" and five being "extremely religious," over eighty percent view themselves as a 3, 4, or 5.

Eighty-five percent of those interviewed speak an Indian language. Those who did not speak a language wish they had learned a language so that they could pass it down to their children in the future. Language seems to be the backbone of religion and culture as well as one of the basic requirements for one to consider oneself as religious or cultural to any degree.

Most Indian Americans were introduced to their religion and culture before the age of five and their primary teachers consisted of their family (either parents or grandparents). Living in America, one does not have the same resources or environment that one would have living in India, therefore it makes sense that one’s primary teachers consisted of one’s immediate family (as opposed to gurus, temple, classes etc…).

Indian culture and religion still have a strong effect on Indian Americans’ lives. Over fifty percent reported that it influences their choices of partners in intimate relations, twenty three percent reported that it influences their career choice, and fifteen percent reported that it affects their choices of friends. Furthermore, for those who abstained from sex, drinking, doing drugs or smoking, religion was a factor in this decision for twenty three percent, eight percent, fourteen percent and ten percent respectively.

Over ninety percent participate in some type of religious activity and over sixty percent are part of a cultural/religious organization. These numbers are quite high and suggest that Indian Americans at Boston University have indeed retained some form of their culture/religion and have not entirely assimilated into American culture. However, over seventy percent believe that they are "Americanized" in that they have taken from both Indian and American culture to form who they are today.

The results of this survey indicate that Indian Americans between ages of 18-24 seem to have retained their culture and religion in several areas of their life. Although those surveyed report that they practice a different form of Hinduism than their counterpart in India, Indian Americans have held on to their heritage. This is most evident in their choices of lifestyles, knowledge of Indian language, and desire to pass down what they have learned about Indian religion and culture to their future children.

1.   Were you born in U.S.A? Yes___ No___
2.   If No, where were you born (state and country)? ____________What year did you come to
      this country?  ________
 3.   Do you speak Hindi? Yes ____ No ___
 4.   Do you speak another Indian language? Yes___ No____ If Yes, which one: ____________
 5.   Do you consider yourself a religious person? 1 2 3 4 5
      (1= irreligious 3= moderately religious 5 = very religious)
 6.   What religion do you follow? Hinduism ___ Jainism___ Sikhism___ Islam___ Other: ______
 7.   Who were your primary religious teachers in your youth? Please check all that apply: Parents ___
       Grandparents____ Siblings___ Guru____ (Name of Guru: _____________) Temple staff/schooling__
       Local Indian Association of your home town/college ____ Other: _____________
 8.   Could you describe the role that they played in fostering your religious side?
      __________________________________________________________________
      __________________________________________________________________
      __________________________________________________________________
      __________________________________________________________________
      __________________________________________________________________
 9.   At what age were you introduced to your religion/culture ________
10.  Are you a member of the Hindu Students Council (or any other Indian/Hindu group) at your
       school?  Yes___ (Name of Association: ______________) No____
11.  If No, is there a specific reason why you did not join? ______________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
12.  Do you actively participate in religious activities (either personal or public)? Please check all that
       apply:  Devotional prayers ____ (Approximately how often: once a day___ once a week___
       once a month___ once a year___ ) Meditation____ Attending prayer services____ Reading
       religious texts____ (Which ones: __________________________)
      Other: _____________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
13.  Do you consider yourself "Americanized?" Yes___ No___ What does being "Americanized,"
       mean to you? (Is it a good thing, bad thing, both, and why):
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
14.  How important do you feel religion has been in your life? 1 2 3 4 5
       (1= not important at all 3= moderately important 5 = very important)
15.  Has it always been that important/unimportant? Yes___ No___
16.  If No, was there a particular experience that changed the amount of influence that religion had
       upon your life?  ______________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
       __________________________________________________________________
17.  In what areas of your life do you feel that religion exerts an effect? Please check all that apply:
      Choice of friends____ Career decisions____ Choice of partner in intimate relations____ Other:
       ________________________________________________________________
       ________________________________________________________________
18.  Do you differentiate between Indian religion and Indian culture? Yes ___ No___
19.  Do you believe that Indian religion and culture are intrinsically intertwined? Yes___ No___
20.  If Yes, how so/what parts?
       _________________________________________________________________
       _________________________________________________________________
       _________________________________________________________________
       _________________________________________________________________
21.  Please answer yes or no to the following questions as well as indicate whether you believe that your
       religion/culture was a factor in your decisions regarding the following life choices:
            a.  Do you drink? Yes ___ No___ Was religion a factor: Yes___ No ___
            b.  Do you smoke? Yes ___ No___ Was religion a factor: Yes___ No ___
            c.  Do you do any drugs? Yes ___ No__ Was religion a factor: Yes___ No__
            d.  Have you had sex? Yes ___ No____ Was religion a factor: Yes___ No __
22.  Do you plan on passing your culture/religion on to your children? Yes___ No___
23.  If Yes, what are the most important things you want to pass down? Please check all that apply:
       Language___ Religious stories____ Religious teachings____ Religious practices____ Culture__
       Other: ___________________________________________________________________
        ________________________________________________________________________
24.  Why?____________________________________________________________________
        ________________________________________________________________________
        ________________________________________________________________________
25.  Do you think that there are adequate resources available in America for one to accurately learn about
       Hinduism/Indian culture on their own? Yes___ No___
26.  If No, do you have any suggestions of resources that should be available, which are currently not?
       ________________________________________________________________________
       ________________________________________________________________________
27.  How do you think that the religion and culture that you practice is different from the religion and culture
       practiced in India, currently?__________________________________________________
        _______________________________________________________________________
        _______________________________________________________________________
        _______________________________________________________________________
28.  Do you think that you are "less religious" or "less cultured" than someone your age that grew up and
       lives in India? Yes___ No___
29.  If No, does this bother you? Yes___ No___ Why/Why not? ______________________
       _____________________________________________________________________
       _____________________________________________________________________
       _____________________________________________________________________
30.  Is there anything that you would like to change regarding your upbringing, in reference to your Indian
       heritage? Yes____ No____ If Yes, then what: __________________________________
       _____________________________________________________________________