Hinduism

[dfiranski]

I am doing a research paper for college and would like to get some additional information in regards to Hinduism. I have done alot of research on Hinduism and find it a very existing and beautiful religion.

 

I would like to know how Hinduism has shaped your lives, what if any challenges are faced being a Hindu in the world today and do you believe that Hinduism has evolved or changed over time or has it remained the same?

[krishnaleela]

 

I would like to know how Hinduism has shaped your lives, what if any challenges are faced being a Hindu in the world today and do you believe that Hinduism has evolved or changed over time or has it remained the same?

 

Yes I am happy being Hindu. Unbelievable inner strength and a search for truth that keeps revealing. Tremendous asset: religion is 'pluralistic', can accept different approaches to God/Truth. Even where there is difference, there is never condemnation, except in resistance of those who condemn.

 

Challenges:

 

We must retain our traditions and diversities in a positive manner.

 

We must learn to accomodate for different viewpoints on key issues like varnaashrama dharma, vegetarianism, etc: not "this is the only view, and I will prove it by quoting this scripture".

 

In secondary social things, the religion evolves and is not bound to one scripture. This religion looks to the saints of each era for guidance.

 

The primary philosophical base comes from the Upanishads (part of the Vedas). That source is the constant of Hinduism. Different subgroups interpret differently and may also have some other scriptures to which they adhere.

[suchandra]

 

I am doing a research paper for college and would like to get some additional information in regards to Hinduism. I have done alot of research on Hinduism and find it a very existing and beautiful religion.

 

I would like to know how Hinduism has shaped your lives, what if any challenges are faced being a Hindu in the world today and do you believe that Hinduism has evolved or changed over time or has it remained the same?

Looks like Hindus are missing something in India since there's quite a huge migration taking place - but what is it that is missing?

Some of the basic teachings of Hinduism - to be satisfied in life with what comes easy, can't be maintained any more due Asia's puppet governments manipulation of which India is no exception - installing a taxation system and endless currency devaluation what initiates mass migration to Australia, Europe, USA, Dubai, South Africa and other parts of the world. Like almost anywhere else Hindus are exposed to be fooled by their own corrupt political leaders when it comes to enable a religious living depending on nature and God. Before the British came to India to turn it into a British crown colony it was the richest nation in the world. When the British left, India couldnt even produce sewing needles, nor could they print their own paper money. All these slums, home of millions, with its corrugated iron shacks, before the British came this was unknown. Now in times of global airfreight-culture global players are aiming for controlling India's agriculture to produce gm foods for the world market, shifting wealth once more into the pockets of the super rich elite (The Wall Street Journal Defends the Super-Rich). But there can be also positve things reported, a 2004 Gallup Poll found 72 million Americans--24%--believe in reincarnation, immortal soul, an astonishing number that has held steady for decades and cuts across all religious affiliations, including even 10% of evangelical Christians. There is almost certainly overlap among these groups, but it is reasonable to state that at least a quarter of Americans share significant Hindu beliefs and practices.

 

 

How Many Hindus are there in the US? BY: HINDUISM TODAY

Dec 31, HAWAII (HPI) — Hinduism Today, January/February/March 2008 Issue.

Hinduism Today was recently asked to provide a definitive estimate of Hindus in America. Our conclusion: as of 2008, there are more than 2,290,000 Hindus in the US.

 

 

 

 

There are no official government statistics on the number of adherents to any particular religion in America, because the US Census does not collect data on religion. Estimates are made mostly by national polls. These are useful for large religious communities, but inaccurate for small ones. For Hinduism, we believe the soundest approach is based on the number of people in America of Indian origin. A single assumption is then made, that the percentage of Hindus among Americans of Indian origin is the same as the percentage of Hindus in India, 81 percent. One could quibble with this assumption. Some claim--without providing any evidence--that there is a greater percentage of Christians among the immigrants than in India. But with just 2.3% Christians in India, even a doubling of that percentage in America would make only a slight difference.

The US Census Bureau conducts an ongoing statistical study called American Community Survey, which provides yearly updates to the decennial American census. The Survey offers up-to-date information on demographics, housing, society and the economy in America, based on a sample of three million households interviewed each year (out of 105 million). The 2006 Survey, which was released in October, 2007, counted 2,482,141 Asian Indians. This includes those of Indian origin coming from countries such as Trinidad, Kenya, Surinam and Fiji.

To update this figure for 2008, we must consider the average annual growth rate for Asian Indians. In the year 2000, the decennial census counted 1,678,765 Asian Indians; the Survey estimated 2,482,141 in 2006, which works out to an annual growth rate of about 6.8 percent. Using that growth rate to extrapolate the 2006 Survey result two years, we calculate 2,831,190 Asian Indians in 2008. Assuming 81% of these Asian Indians are Hindus, just as in India, we conclude that of the 2,831,190 Asian Indians, 2,290,000 are Hindus--qed! But despite the compelling logic of this analysis, Hinduism Today has never seen it published elsewhere.

What about the other estimates? An oft-cited number for Hindus in America--the figure cited on the US Census Bureau website itself--is derived from the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) conducted in 2001 by the City University of New York. This was a telephone survey involving 50,281 households. ARIS concluded that 0.4% of America's p opulation, or about 1.2 million people in 2008, are Hindus. In the absence of a more extensive study, this has become a semi-official number, sustained by the ARIS report's easy availability at the main US Census Bureau website. Before the advent of the American Community Survey, there was no way of challenging ARIS' conclusions. The ARIS report forthrightly acknowledges its limits. It admits, "because the survey depends on telephone interviews, overcoming language barriers has proven prohibitively costly. In effect, this survey has interviewed only the English-speaking population of the US.

In addition, many new immigrants originate in societies and states where responding to personal questions over the telephone is an alien experience, and discussions of one's religious beliefs and identification are deemed to be risky. " The report's conclusion mentions the impressive growth of Hinduism in America, observing, "there are more than three times as many Hindus in the US today as there were in 1990. Undoubtedly, due to the limitations of this study, we have not picked up the full impact of those changes yet." Unfortunately, the ARIS estimate is typically quoted as fact, with no mention of these caveats.

Other figures are based on even less concrete information than the ARIS results. Harvard's Pluralism Project estimates 1,300,000 Hindus, based on the 2004 World Almanac figure of 1,285,000--which, in turn, was based on information from the 1999 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The Encyclopedia Britannica estimates 1,032,000 Hindus in America by 2000. The World Christian Encyclopedia (1985 edition) projected 700,000 Hindus in 2000, at 0.3% of the population, based on census date from the 1980s. The popular website www.adherents.com uses the ARIS figure, but updates it using growth estimates. All are no more than educated guesses.

Many Americans who are not ethnic Indians embrace Hindu practice or belief to one degree or another. Hundreds of thousands have flocked to swamis, pundits, saints and teachers from India since the 1960s. A 2005 Harris poll commissioned by Yoga Journal found that 16.5 million Americans practice yoga regularly. A 2004 Gallup Poll found 72 million Americans--24%--believe in reincarnation, an astonishing number that has held steady for decades and cuts across all religious affiliations, including even 10% of evangelical Christians. There is almost certainly overlap among these groups, but it is reasonable to state that at least a quarter of Americans share significant Hindu beliefs and practices.

 

Source: Hinduism Today.