Pew study: U.S. is top destination for Christian, Buddhist immigrants

The pattern is among the revelations in a map of religious migration across the globe released on Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

The map also shows that Europe has more Christian immigrants than Muslim immigrants. Millions of Muslims are on the move, mostly to other Muslim countries.

The study examined the religious identities of people living a year or longer in a country other than the one in which they were born as of 2010. It used world-wide census and United Nations data to determine the results.

While religious persecution and escape from violent conflict can be factors in migration, the single-largest driver is economic opportunity, immigration experts say. Still, people bring their faith with them when they move, said Phillip Connor, a Pew researcher and lead researcher of the study.