As you probably know, the Dalai Lama is visiting Washington, D.C., this week. And if you know that, I assume that you can probably also correctly name the Dalai Lama’s religion. Well, if you’re American, that puts you in the minority. The Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey found that fewer than half (47%) of Americans know the Dalai Lama is Buddhist.
Note that atheists/agnostics (74%) and Jews (74%) were much more adept than other groups at correctly identifying the Dalai Lama’s faith.
Fewer people (36%) identify Buddhism as the religion that aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering.
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