Study Reveals How To Communicate Sikhism In America

WASHINGTON DC, USA (March 19, 2015)—After a year of painstaking work, the National Sikh Campaign has released the historic report: Sikhism in the United States: What Americans Know and Need to Know. The report was the first comprehensive study ever conducted on Sikhism.
This groundbreaking report allows Sikh-Americans to scientifically understand, for the first time in the Sikh community’s 100+ year history in the United States, the specific facts, images and stories about Sikhism that resonate with the broader American public. We now have a clear roadmap to give our fellow American’s a firm understanding of our identity and values
The report found Sikh-Americans can make SIGNIFICANT improvement in building their image and changing their perceptions in the United States IF we effectively communicate key elements of our faith such as Sikhism’s commitment to equality, relating our values to American values, and the articulating the meaning of the turban.
Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, political orientation, were extremely receptive to the Sikh message. It is up to us to tell our story.
By following the recommendations in the report we now know what we need to be communicating and whom we need to be communicating with to build Sikh awareness – which is critical because our future in America hinges on our ability to communicate our values.
If we allow the “foreignness’ of the Sikh image to persist over generations, the viability of maintaining the proud Sikh image will decline. We should be able to proudly declare ourselves as Sikhs, and have our fellow Americans know who we are and what we stand for.
If we invest resources in strategically communicating the information outlined in this upcoming report and ultimately raise awareness, we will build a new future for Sikhs in America.
:Below is a summary of the report:
Main Points from the Sikhism in the United States study:
1.    Recognize that most Americans know little to nothing about Sikhs. Many Americans have never heard of Sikhism or met someone who is Sikh.
2.    There is enormous potential to enhance positive feelings toward Sikh Americans by communicating the messages below and DEMPHASIZING the messages of discrimination and bullying. In our post-messaging exercise, feelings towards Sikhs improved by double digits in EVERY demographic for an overall improvement of 17.5 percent.