Course Home

Syllabus & Assignments

Resources

Lectures

Hinduism

PowerPoint Presentation: An Overview of Hinduism

Hinduism in a Minute:

"Hinduism" is a made up category for a vast variety of philosophical thought patterns and practices found in India and lumped under one broad heading created by western scholars. Perhaps in India these different patterns of faith are viewed as more distinct from each other than Westerners make them out to be (in the same way that many Christians erroneously see their different denominations as "different religions").

It is hard to say just when Hinduism began:

• It was not started by any one particular person.

• Its roots go back before recorded history and

• involve a combination of elements from several cultures and traditions

• which made a gradual transition over time giving birth to several non-Hindu religions (Buddhism, Jainism) in the process.

India can be seen as the "mother land" of religions in that she has given birth to several (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism) and nurtured others (Islam, Zoroastrianism [the Parsees], and Christianity) that have come to call this land "home".

Here are some demographics on religions in India

The religion we call "Hinduism" has developed from the mixing of two cultures (Aryan and Indus River Valley) and their respective religions.

One young American woman converted to Hinduism and speaks cogently about various aspects of this religion.