Buddhists and Hindus on the rise in U.S.

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Hindu and Buddhist groups have grown steadily in the United States since changes in immigration laws in 1965 and 1992, with particularly high concentrations in the New York metropolitan area, Texas, California, Illinois, and Georgia, according to a professor from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, who helped compile the 2010 U.S. Religion Census.

"Both Buddhists and Hindus, though still relatively small compared to the large Christian groups, have grown to the point that they are beginning to exert significant influence on the key issues that most affect their lives," points out J. Gordon Melton, distinguished professor of American Religious History. The census, the most comprehensive statistical assessment of data from the 2,000-plus religious groups active in the U.S., is made every 10 years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

Hindus and Buddhists have temples in most states, and "the groups now regularly voice their opinions on U.S. relations with predominantly Hindu and Buddhist countries," Melton relates. "Like the Muslim congregations, Hindus and Buddhists are found in every part of the country, but they are concentrated in the big cities and still have not begun to appear in great numbers in the smaller cities and rural areas."

Another significant finding was that some of the larger Christian...