Religious Composition Of The United States: Sikhs Are .3 Percent?
It would be worth it to know the methodology used and also how the raw numbers were analyzed.
I don't see Sikhs even listed. But a figure, however off tilt it might be because of reporting biases of the US Census, still should be available.
I don't see Sikhs even listed. But a figure, however off tilt it might be because of reporting biases of the US Census, still should be available.
This related post from the Sikh Coalition
Source Counting Every Sikh in Census 2010 Sikh Coalition’s Blog
Counting Every Sikh in Census 2010
Click Here to read the form for Census 2010.
Over the past few weeks, the Coalition has received varied requests for our involvement with Census 2010 efforts across the United States. Next year’s census count promises to be one of the largest mobilizing events of this administration. But the Sikh Coalition has decided not to play an active role in the Census next year for the reason described below.
Like most Sikhs, we would like for there to be an accurate count of Sikhs in the United States. If we had an accurate count of how many Sikhs live in the United States and where, we would gain many advantages – from being able to showcase voting blocks in certain areas to obtaining funding for our community’s needs. Every time we walk into a legislator’s office to ask them to do something for Sikhs, the first question is always “How many Sikhs are there in my district.” Therefore, having an accurate count of our community is key to our progress in the United States.
However, after months of research into this matter, we have discovered that Census 2010 will not be able to provide us with any Sikh headcount at all. This is the primary reason why the Coalition has chosen not to play an active role in the census effort next year.
We recently spoke with Karen Humes, Assistant Division Chief for Special Populations at the Census Bureau in Washington, DC. Karen’s job is to work alongside the Race and Ancestry branches to code the data that comes in on census forms from around the country. You can read a letter from Karen that confirms this information by clicking here.
There are 4 options for how a Sikh could possibly fill out the 2010 census form to try and be counted as a Sikh. Each of these options involves Question 9 – The Race Question – on the census form. Here’s what Karen told us about each one:
Option 1: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could tick the box next to either “Other Asian” or “Some other race” and write in the word “Sikh” in the text space.
Karen was very clear that any attempt to write in the word “Sikh” in any text box on the census form will result in the person being counted as “Asian Indian.” As she explained it, the census’ computers are coded so that any write-in of the word “Sikh” results in the person automatically being dropped into the “Asian Indian” category. There is no “Sikh” category.
Option 2: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could tick the box next to both “Asian Indian” and “Some other race” and write in the word “Sikh” in the text space.
If more than one type of race box is ticked, the person will be counted as someone of mixed-race heritage. If the person ticks both and writes in “Sikh” under “Some other race” then the person will be counted as mixed-race of Asian heritage.
Option 3: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could simply tick the box next to “Some other race” or “Other Asian” and not write anything in the text space.
In this case, the Sikh would simply be counted as “Other Asian” or “Other race,” which are both reported categories in the Census data.
Option 4: A Sikh could leave the question “What is Person 1’s race?” unanswered on the census form.
If the race question is left unanswered, the Census Bureau will attempt to impute a race based on other information. For example, they will check back to match your return from Census 2000, if possible, or will check the race of others in your household. If all else fails, they could impute your neighbor’s race to you with the help of a stratification algorithm.
In sum the message from Census Bureau officials is clear: There is no Sikh category that it counts and writing in the word “Sikh” under the race questions will have Sikhs counted as “Asian Indian.”
The Census Bureau has also stated that it will not reconsider the decision not to include Sikhs in its census count because it does not traditionally include any religious categories in the census.
The Coalition will always support efforts to get Sikhs counted in the United States. That is partly why we are doing further research into the American Community Survey (ACS) – a yearly data collection process by the Census Bureau that counts people by religious affiliation across the country. Our understanding is that the ACS provides more accurate data than the census and focuses on more socio-economic categories than the census. We have been told that some versions of the ACS, unlike the Census, also have a specific question about religion, which we believe would more accurately reflect the number of Sikhs in our community. We will be looking into this over the next few months and will let the community know the results of our research.
In sum, while the census is a grand effort being put forth by the government next year, the Coalition believes it would be best for us to spend the Sikh community’s money on an initiative that benefits the Sikh community specifically. Because the census does not provide us with a headcount of Sikhs, we currently believe that the best way to spend our resources to try and get a Sikh headcount is to work with the ACS and not the census.
Source Counting Every Sikh in Census 2010 Sikh Coalition’s Blog
Counting Every Sikh in Census 2010
Click Here to read the form for Census 2010.Over the past few weeks, the Coalition has received varied requests for our involvement with Census 2010 efforts across the United States. Next year’s census count promises to be one of the largest mobilizing events of this administration. But the Sikh Coalition has decided not to play an active role in the Census next year for the reason described below.
Like most Sikhs, we would like for there to be an accurate count of Sikhs in the United States. If we had an accurate count of how many Sikhs live in the United States and where, we would gain many advantages – from being able to showcase voting blocks in certain areas to obtaining funding for our community’s needs. Every time we walk into a legislator’s office to ask them to do something for Sikhs, the first question is always “How many Sikhs are there in my district.” Therefore, having an accurate count of our community is key to our progress in the United States.
However, after months of research into this matter, we have discovered that Census 2010 will not be able to provide us with any Sikh headcount at all. This is the primary reason why the Coalition has chosen not to play an active role in the census effort next year.
We recently spoke with Karen Humes, Assistant Division Chief for Special Populations at the Census Bureau in Washington, DC. Karen’s job is to work alongside the Race and Ancestry branches to code the data that comes in on census forms from around the country. You can read a letter from Karen that confirms this information by clicking here.
There are 4 options for how a Sikh could possibly fill out the 2010 census form to try and be counted as a Sikh. Each of these options involves Question 9 – The Race Question – on the census form. Here’s what Karen told us about each one:
Option 1: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could tick the box next to either “Other Asian” or “Some other race” and write in the word “Sikh” in the text space.
Karen was very clear that any attempt to write in the word “Sikh” in any text box on the census form will result in the person being counted as “Asian Indian.” As she explained it, the census’ computers are coded so that any write-in of the word “Sikh” results in the person automatically being dropped into the “Asian Indian” category. There is no “Sikh” category.
Option 2: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could tick the box next to both “Asian Indian” and “Some other race” and write in the word “Sikh” in the text space.
If more than one type of race box is ticked, the person will be counted as someone of mixed-race heritage. If the person ticks both and writes in “Sikh” under “Some other race” then the person will be counted as mixed-race of Asian heritage.
Option 3: Under the question “What is Person 1’s race?,” a Sikh could simply tick the box next to “Some other race” or “Other Asian” and not write anything in the text space.
In this case, the Sikh would simply be counted as “Other Asian” or “Other race,” which are both reported categories in the Census data.
Option 4: A Sikh could leave the question “What is Person 1’s race?” unanswered on the census form.
If the race question is left unanswered, the Census Bureau will attempt to impute a race based on other information. For example, they will check back to match your return from Census 2000, if possible, or will check the race of others in your household. If all else fails, they could impute your neighbor’s race to you with the help of a stratification algorithm.
In sum the message from Census Bureau officials is clear: There is no Sikh category that it counts and writing in the word “Sikh” under the race questions will have Sikhs counted as “Asian Indian.”
The Census Bureau has also stated that it will not reconsider the decision not to include Sikhs in its census count because it does not traditionally include any religious categories in the census.
The Coalition will always support efforts to get Sikhs counted in the United States. That is partly why we are doing further research into the American Community Survey (ACS) – a yearly data collection process by the Census Bureau that counts people by religious affiliation across the country. Our understanding is that the ACS provides more accurate data than the census and focuses on more socio-economic categories than the census. We have been told that some versions of the ACS, unlike the Census, also have a specific question about religion, which we believe would more accurately reflect the number of Sikhs in our community. We will be looking into this over the next few months and will let the community know the results of our research.
In sum, while the census is a grand effort being put forth by the government next year, the Coalition believes it would be best for us to spend the Sikh community’s money on an initiative that benefits the Sikh community specifically. Because the census does not provide us with a headcount of Sikhs, we currently believe that the best way to spend our resources to try and get a Sikh headcount is to work with the ACS and not the census.
Kanwardeep Singh ji
You are correct. And that is why I published the above US Census article. The Census does not collect information about religion and contracts out that type of analysis to the organization American Community Survey.
There are no numbers regarding the number of Sikhs in the United States. There are an estimated 1.7 million Indo-Americans (Americans from India) of whom some number is Sikh but no one knows exactly how many. This approach would also count only Sikhs from South Asia or from families originating in South Asia and not Sikhs coming from other locations.
The Sikh Coalition is trying to address this gap. However the problem that it faces is that the ACS has not counted Sikhs in the past and the US Census Bureau format for asking questions does not have a way to gather the information currently.
It is a fascinating problem - how they are going to do it. I can post examples from 3 different British Census reports in India during the raj and the British were also unable to come to closure -- in their case for political reasons as well as reasons of cultural identificaiton or deliberate mis identification.
Here is more misleading information:
http://www.sikhwomen.com/facts/population.htm
USA
1.6 million Asian Indians ('discovered' by the 2000 US Census) nearly seven hundred thousand have 'Singh' or 'Kaur' as part of their name - which means they are Sikhs.
There is no way of knowing how the seven hundred thousand was identified. The name Singh is not limited to Sikhs and is found throughout south Asia and the Pacific Islands, even Muslims may have Singh as a surname. And the count of children may not be reflected in the total number of Singhs and Kaurs.
http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/Main/K_Calling/kc05232001.htm
http://www.sikhwomen.com/facts/population.htm
USA
1.6 million Asian Indians ('discovered' by the 2000 US Census) nearly seven hundred thousand have 'Singh' or 'Kaur' as part of their name - which means they are Sikhs.
There is no way of knowing how the seven hundred thousand was identified. The name Singh is not limited to Sikhs and is found throughout south Asia and the Pacific Islands, even Muslims may have Singh as a surname. And the count of children may not be reflected in the total number of Singhs and Kaurs.
http://www.khalistan-affairs.org/Main/K_Calling/kc05232001.htm
Wow! Sikhs may be only the 0.3% of US population but my word, they are still able to hold on to their own... post 9/11 probably one of the most vocal and visible communities in US... It was also amazing to notice that Sikhs found their mention in the recent speech of of President Obama on the occasion of Bandhi Chodd Divas celebrated by the Sikhs all over the world... kudos belongs to active Sikh organizations like SALDEF, Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs, Khalsa Aid or others... :happy:
:happysingh:
:happysingh:
Aman ji - You make a very interesting point above! I never realized how true until you wrote that. It was 9/11 that was the catalyst that brought Sikhism into the public eye through these organizations. The community is becoming more and more visible. It is only a matter of time before the image of Sikhs and Sikhism will be in the right focus -- a community that wants to be known for its commitment to service to humanity, its commitment to civil rights, its unimpeachable record of being industrious people, and its steadfast pursuit of educational opportunity and achievement. Out of the ashes...
Narayanjot ji,
It is good to know that Sikhs of US are fast acquiring this great image.
Here in India it was on a downward spiral until recently when Manmohan Singh stopped the slide to some extent.
But in Punjab under Badal and family it on a cascade to doom.
It is good to know that Sikhs of US are fast acquiring this great image.
Here in India it was on a downward spiral until recently when Manmohan Singh stopped the slide to some extent.
But in Punjab under Badal and family it on a cascade to doom.
📌 For all latest updates, follow the Official Sikh Philosophy Network Whatsapp Channel:
