Religiosity and education

The relationship between the level of religiosity and the level of education has been studied since the second half of the 20th century. The relationship between the level of religiosity and the level of education has been studied since the second half of the 20th century. The parameters of the two components diverse: the 'level of religiosity' remains a concept which is difficult to differentiate scientifically, while the 'level of education' is easier to compile, such as official data on this topic, because data on education is publicly accessible in many countries. Different studies show contrasted conclusions regarding any link between the two concepts, depending on whether 'religiosity' is measured by religious practices (attendance at places of worship, for example) or specific religious beliefs (belief in miracles, for example), with notable differences between nations. For example, an international study states that in some Western nations the intensity of beliefs decreases with education, but attendance and religious practice increases. Other studies indicate that the religious have higher education than the non-religious. Other studies find that the positive correlation with low or non religiosity and education has been reversed in the past few decades. In terms of university professors, one study concluded that in the US, the majority of professors, even at 'elite' universities, were religious. A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in 2016, found that Jews are most educated religious group around in the world with an average of 13.4 years of schooling; Jews also have the highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita (61%). Based on the study data, Muslims and Hindus have the lowest average levels of education, with an average of 5.6 years of schooling for both. About 36% of the world Muslim population and 41% of the world Hindu population have no formal schooling, Muslims and Hindus have the lowest average levels of higher education than any other major religious group, with only 8% and 10% respectively have graduate and post-graduate degrees. Christians ranked as the second most educated religious group around in the world with an average of 9.3 years of schooling. Christians were found to have the second highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita while in absolute numbers ranked in the first place (220 million). According to the study, Christians in North America, Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions are highly educated since many of the world universities were built by the historic Christian churches, in addition to the historical evidence that 'Christian monks built libraries and, in the days before printing presses, preserved important earlier writings produced in Latin, Greek and Arabic'. According to the same study, Christians have a significant amount of gender equality in educational attainment, and the study suggests that one of the reasons is the encouragement of the Protestant Reformers in promoting the education of women, which led to the eradication of illiteracy among females in Protestant communities. The religiously unaffiliated—which includes atheists, agnostics and those who describe their religion as “nothing in particular”—ranked as the third most educated religious group with an average of 8.8 years of schooling, and around 16% of unaffiliated have graduate and post-graduate degrees. Buddhists have an average of 7.9 years of schooling, and around 12% of Buddhists have graduate and post-graduate degrees. According to the same study 'there is a large and pervasive gap in educational attainment between Muslims and Christians in sub-Saharan Africa' as Muslim adults in this region are far less educated than their Christian counterparts, with scholars suggesting that this gap is due to the educational facilities that were created by Christian missionaries during the colonial era for fellow believers. According to a 2015 global survey by Gallup International, the most religious had lower levels of education, however, religious people in general were a majority in all educational levels.