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The future of Hinduism in America

Surya Deva

Well-Known Member
Here it is, taken from last years census.

2011 Census reveals Hinduism

You said:

Most adherents in this country are still Indian but there's a significant amount of western Hindus and the number is growing gradually.

There is no evidence in the census report you posted of this assertion.

I am always skeptical of such assertions of how Western people are embracing Indian culture, religion and entertainment. I often see hyperbolic claims, made by Indians or non-Indian indophiles, such as "How Bollywood is becoming mainstream in the West" and yet whenever I see a Bollywood film in the cinema, I am lucky to even seen one non-indian/south Asian person in the cinema.

I want to see actual demographics that clearly show the number of non-Indian ethnicity Hindus in the world and until I do not I will consider claims of there being a significant number of non-Indian Hindus to be unproven and baseless.
 
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Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
There is no evidence in the census report you posted of this assertion.

I don't know where to find that information online. All I know is that the community, of which I am a part of, seems to be growing. There are temples that are attracting more and more westerners and as a result, more temples are being built. My observation is that there are still far more Indian Hindus in Australia. But most of my Hindu friends are of European decent. I grew up in a large community of Hindu who are mostly of European decent. I know first hand that there are numerous areas in Australia with communities of Hindus who are European.

I really don't care if you believe me. Maybe you should do some travelling and see for yourself.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
America no longer has a centralized culture; it hasn't since the internet.

It never had one, even before the internet. People have called America a melting pot, but's it's more like a stew or salad bowl. The ingredients are all in there making up one dish, but the separate ingredients are still discernable.

Just sayin'. ;)
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
It never had one, even before the internet. People have called America a melting pot, but's it's more like a stew or salad bowl. The ingredients are all in there making up one dish, but the separate ingredients are still discernable.

Just sayin'. ;)

Okay, technically true, but before the internet allowed "counterculture" movements to really come out of their closets, America at least pretended to have a centralized culture. ... though that may have just been yet another product of the Cold War.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
America at least pretended to have a centralized culture. ... though that may have just been yet another product of the Cold War.

Yes, I agree with that. We pretended to be homogenous. It's not unlike what will probably happen when we encounter extraterrestrials. For all of humanity's differences, we'll come together as one homogenous species with one (pretend) culture faster than **** goes through a goose.
 

Surya Deva

Well-Known Member
Nobody represents all non-Indian Americans. America no longer has a centralized culture; it hasn't since the internet.

I am not talking about culture here, but official America census figures. When we see that a significant percentage(20-30%) of non-Indian Americans are Hindu we can say Hinduism has become a major American religion. If it simply remains the religion of Indian-Hindus, it cannot be said to be a major American religion and representing all ethnicities in America.

Besides, I've already listed a very important Hindu Sage who was as European as me. His disciple, who currently runs the Saiva Siddhanta Church, is also Caucasian.

Yes, I am familiar with them. They are a minuscule minority in Hinduism.

You, yourself, deny the Puranic religion as true Hinduism.

I deny its status, I don't deny its existence.

You've just given a hypothesis. Swastikas are found elsewhere in the world, so that's not continuity.

The Vedic religion is a child of the Indo-Iranian religion, which is a child of the Proto-Indo-European religion. The IVC is as likely to be Dravidic as Vedic.

I am not going to debate this here. I have seen the evidence archaeological, genetic, geological and astronomical and have concluded the IVC is Vedic.

I didn't say an antimatter explosion. I said something. I'm not a weapons scientist, so I can't say what. Point is, it's a possibility.

There is a possibility of being struck by lightening 43 times in a row :D
It is highly unlikely any Indian scientist will develop some new weapon that will give India military advantage in Asia. Indian scientists struggled to even develop its own fighter aircraft LCA. As the situation stands, India is decades behind the advanced countries in weapons technology, and it is also behind China. Lets be realistic now please.

We can't see the future. In five years, literally anything can happen.

I'm not denying that war is brewing. That's obvious. What I'm saying is that this world we live in is moving too fast to rely on long-term predictions. Heck, we've been failing at them for decades.

Five-year predictions are not long term, they are short term. I would prefer you are right, as India being ethnically my home country and the mother of my religion and the place where many of family and relatives live is dear to me and I would not like to see it go. However, it is likely at this moment in time that it will go. I blame Indians themselves for why it is going to go. India did not get its act together, organize itself and unite; China did.

So, Hinduism will survive elsewhere just as Tibetan Buddhism has. I doubt China will have an easy time trying to claim Kauai, where Hinduism Today and the Himalayan Academy are based.

Sure, but with only 1.5% of Hindus remaining in the world after India is gone, not to mention those lost in the war, it will be reduced to minority and near dead religion.

Christianity, Islam and Buddhism would survive WWIII because they are global religions and are not just concentrated in one place.

Ah, so China won't be able to occupy India, since neither will exist.

Trust me: China is too ambitious for its own good. Trying to govern such a large expanse of land is impossible for a singular power. Heck, it's the place to go to if you're looking for pirated copies of stuff, an indication that they can't even govern what they currently have. They'll stretch themselves so thin that they'll just collapse in on themselves, being unable to govern the fringes of their empire.

China is remarkably united and this is clear when you talk to Chinese people, who have strong nationalistic identification with China and the state. I have talked to Chinese students who have told me that Tianaman square was the fault of the Chinese students who were causing trouble so the state dealt with them. Moreover, most Chinese believe that they will have democracy in the future when China is ready for it.

India can only dream of the kind of unity China has.

Besides, there's another war that you don't seem to be aware of, yet will determine virtually everything.

And what might that be?
 
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Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
I am not talking about culture here, but official America census figures. When we see that a significant percentage(20-30%) of non-Indian Americans are Hindu we can say Hinduism has become a major American religion. If it simply remains the religion of Indian-Hindus, it cannot be said to be a major American religion and representing all ethnicities in America.

Nobody is saying it's a major American religion. America only has one major religion, really: Christianity.

Yes, I am familiar with them. They are a minuscule minority in Hinduism.
There sure are a lot of miniscule minorities, eh?

I deny its status, I don't deny its existence.
Then why did you list it as part of Hinduism?

I am not going to debate this here. I have seen the evidence archaeological, genetic, geological and astronomical and have concluded the IVC is Vedic.
Very well.

There is a possibility of being struck by lightening 43 times in a row :D
It is highly unlikely any Indian scientist will develop some new weapon that will give India military advantage in Asia. Indian scientists struggled to even develop its own fighter aircraft LCA. As the situation stands, India is decades behind the advanced countries in weapons technology, and it is also behind China. Lets be realistic now please.
I am.

You can't be realistic and make five year advance predictions. There are far too many wild cards. I simply provided one of them.

Yours is a likely outcome, sure. But at this point, we can't be certain. Anything can happen.

When China starts announcing its plans for invasion, and it's only within months of occurring, then we can talk. As it stands, we'll see what Mother's Will is.

Five-year predictions are not long term, they are short term. I would prefer you are right, as India being ethnically my home country and the mother of my religion and the place where many of family and relatives live is dear to me and I would not like to see it go. However, it is likely at this moment in time that it will go. I blame Indians themselves for why it is going to go. India did not get its act together, organize itself and unite; China did.
Five years is a long time these days. It may not have been 20 or 30 years ago, but it is now.

Only six years ago, the idea of watching movies on the internet in any sort of quality was unheard of.

Sure, but with only 1.5% of Hindus remaining in the world after India is gone, not to mention those lost in the war, it will be reduced to minority and near dead religion.

Christianity, Islam and Buddhism would survive WWIII because they are global religions and are not just concentrated in one place.
Hinduism is on the verge of breaking free of India. Look at its status elsewhere. People are converting and adopting. Slowly, but surely.

It won't be near dead. It will be reborn, like Asatru and Kemeticism.

China is remarkably united and this is clear when you talk to Chinese people, who have strong nationalistic identification with China and the state. I have talked to Chinese students who have told me that Tianaman square was the fault of the Chinese students who were causing trouble so the state dealt with them. Moreover, most Chinese believe that they will have democracy in the future when China is ready for it.

India can only dream of the kind of unity China has.
Unity doesn't play a part in this. My point still stands: they can't govern themselves.

And I am very much aware that there are TONS of Hindus who are particularly bad at following ahimsa.

And what might that be?
The war between the corporations and the creators.
 
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jaikishan01

New Member
it is like this u r going in mosque and saying i'm not muslim these people what did know about yoga before 1960?i think these people also perform islamic namaz without saying allah hu akbar and said it is cristian namaz form not hindu i think muslim allow him!????bcoz every religion it's right & view when u shaw that people is away from ur religion then u will pirate it and say it is our religion what the.....these people know bcoz hindu r peace they will not react I'M ACCUSING THESE PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE EGOSTIC PEOPLE AND EGOSTIC PEOPLE CAN BE A YOGI WHAT A FUNNY THINS,YOGA IS EVERY THING BUT WHEN U DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT TRUTH HW U CAN BE A YOGI
 

Wannabe Yogi

Well-Known Member
As far as yoga and vegetarianism and the 'western' watered down 'neo-Hinduism' goes, what ever happened to the idea of taking a small step? That's how I see it ... a step in the dharmic direction. With reincarnation a firm belief, it may take several lifetimes for a soul to get it, and start calling it Hindu, or moving to more traditional methods. Anything away from hate is a step.

I also see it as the culture changing. The popularly vegetarianism, yoga and the concepts of Karma; reincarnation and ahimsa are signs that America is fertile ground for the Dharma religions. Without acceptance of Hindu Ideals in our cultural milieu it would be impossible for most of us to relate.
 
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Wannabe Yogi

Well-Known Member
Honestly doubt it, American Hinduism is not really American Hinduism, it is Indian-American Hinduism. I can't see non-Indian Americans embracing Indian-Hinduism any time soon, when it would be superfluous to do so, as all ideas that they do embrace about Hinduism they have assimilated into their own religious traditions.

An Interesting article by one of the most important news magazines in America.

U.S. Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu - Newsweek and The Daily Beast
 

Me Myself

Back to my username
I would believe more people are believing in reincarnation too.

No idea how true that is :D

Bt many paths lead to god and there is reincarnation do sound very hindu to me ;)

Then aain my honest biggest association is the gods themselves.
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
@Wannabe: At the temple you go to, what % is American versus Indian? Just curious. Here it is about 1% American (actually Canadian, same thing) , maybe slightly higher. There are about 10-15 of us 'whities'.

I will point out that at Concord, CA's Shiva temple, MoonWater and I were usually the only caucasians except on holidays, when there were generally only two or three who were clearly not Indian.
 

atanu

Member
Premium Member
It is an incredible thread.

It is true that the puranic Hinduism is tied to local Indian culture and can never be palatable to all. But, even in the puranic Hinduism, the essence is of Veda/Vedanta which have no such binding really.

What cultural binding nasadiya sukta has? What cultural or timeline signatures characterize the Upanishads? None. It is true that vedant can only be embraced by a very limited few but that does not mean that the teachings will vanish into thin air.
 

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
You do get the occasional Hindu temple with a lot of non-Indians. There is a Shiva ashram a couple of hours from where I live. I haven't been but in the photos they post most of the people who attend are Caucasian.
 
I would believe more people are believing in reincarnation too.
No idea how true that is :D
Bt many paths lead to god and there is reincarnation do sound very hindu to me ;)
Then again my honest biggest association is the gods themselves.

Imho, the whole purpose of the west and America's interest and any introduction to India's spiritual heritage is only one thing, and that is knowing Krishna, hearing Krishna's name, and waiting for Steven Spielburg quality movies showing it as it was.

Imho, the whole purpose of Hinduism in America is hearing and knowing the purported value of the maha mantra,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare . . .
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Wow. And what about the Ramakrishna Math, Arsh Vidya Gurukulam, Sai centers, and all the other non-Vaihnavite traditons. They have no purpose at all? Not to mention the immigrant temples, and interest in those immigrant temples by westerners.

Hate to break the news, but Hinduism really is a lot more than Vaisnavism. In my city we have 8 temples. One is pure Vaishnava.
 
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