International Shia News Agency

This study shows just how diverse America’s Muslims actually are

SHAFAQNA - Between teenage brides and celebrity athletes/chefs/musicians-turned militants, there’s more than enough media coverage about Westerners flooding into the Syrian battlefield. But what about the millions of normal Muslims practicing Islam in the US?

Turns out, they’re just as diverse.

A 2014 study by the Pew Research Institute showed Islam to be among the most diverse religions in America, just behind Seventh Day Adventists (who knew?).

In research that examined 29 different religious affiliations and five racial and ethnic groups — Hispanics, non-Hispanic whites, blacks, Asians and a category of mixed-race Americans and other races  — Islam is ranked as having the second most diverse group of members.

Pew catagorized their findings on a 10 point scale in the following way: The more diversely populated the religion, the higher the number. This means, a religious group made up entirely of one race would get zero, while one comprised of equal parts of all five categories would get a 10.

Islam scored an 8.7, meaning no more than 40 percent of any group comprised the Muslim population. Black, white and Asian Muslims make up an equal quarter or more of the US’s Islamic community. Not far behind Islam was Johovah’s Witnesses at 8.6, with black, white and Latinos worshippers each making up one quarter or more.

Keep in mind; this study considers most participants from the MENA region to be within the ‘white’ category, so a lot of Middle Eastern groups are roped into one here.

We’ve alreadt discovered Islam is the fastest growing faith in the world, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that it’s among America’s most diverse faiths, too.

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