Non-practicing Hindus who still identify with Hindu culture and heritage
A Cultural Hindu is a religiously unobservant individual who identifies with Hinduism, usually due to family background. [1]
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A Cultural Hindu is a religiously unobservant individual who identifies with Hinduism, usually due to family background. [1]
Emory University professor John Y. Fenton defines the locution as follows: [1]
The term "cultural Hindu" generally refers to Desis with a Hindu family background who have low observance of religious practices and whose identification with the Hindu religious tradition is primarily cultural or communal. [1]
The term has come into vogue as a result of secularization. [2] Cultural Hindus, while not religiously devout, may still observe Hindu festivals, such as Diwali. [3] For these individuals, this commemoration of Hindu festivals, as well as occasional temple attendance, serve as a celebration of their heritage. [4]
Hinduism is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma, a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is Vaidika dharma, the dharma related to the Vedas.
Hindus are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent.
Syncretism is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. Syncretism also occurs commonly in expressions of art and culture, known as eclecticism, as well as in politics, known as syncretic politics.
Hindutva (transl. Hinduness) is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar.
The historical Vedic religion, constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subcontinent during the Vedic period. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today. It is one of the major traditions which shaped Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is markedly different from the historical Vedic religion.
In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, and religious figures have looked at the relationships between Hinduism and other religions.
Pohela Boishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar which is also the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam by Bengalis regardless of religious faith.
Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage (Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking health and happiness for their loved ones.
Cultural Muslims are religiously non-practicing individuals who still identify and adhere to Islam due to family backgrounds, personal experiences, or the social, religious and cultural environment in which they grew up in.
The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.
Spiritual philosophy is any philosophy or teaching that pertains to spirituality. It may incorporate religious or esoteric themes. It can include any belief or thought system that embraces the existence of a reality that cannot be physically perceived. Concepts of spiritual philosophy are not universal and differ depending on one’s religious and cultural backgrounds. Spiritual philosophy can also be solely based on one’s personal and experiential connections.
Hinduism in Fiji has a following primarily among Indo-Fijians, the descendants of indentured workers brought to Fiji by the British as cheap labor for colonial sugarcane plantations. Hindus started arriving in Fiji starting in 1879 and continuing through 1920, when Britain abolished the slavery-like indenture system. Fiji identifies people as "Indo-Fijians" if they can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent, Hindus form about 27.9% the population of Fiji.
Kashmiriyat is the centuries-old indigenous tradition of communal harmony and religious syncretism in the Kashmir Valley in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Emerging around the 16th century, it is characterised by religious and cultural harmony, patriotism and pride for their mountainous homeland of Kashmir.
Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Throughout India's history, religion has been an important part of the country's culture and the Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Ganga–Jamuni Tehzeeb, also spelled as Ganga-Jamni Tehzeeb or just Hindustani Tehzeeb, is the composite high culture of the central plains of northern India, especially the doab region of Ganges and Yamuna rivers, that is a syncretic fusion of Hindu cultural elements with Muslim cultural elements. The composite Ganga-Jamuni culture emerged due to the interaction between Hindus and Muslims in the history of South Asia.
Hindu denominations, sampradayas, traditions, movements, and sects are traditions and sub-traditions within Hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and so on. The term sampradaya is used for branches with a particular founder-guru with a particular philosophy.
Neo-Vedanta, also called Hindu modernism, neo-Hinduism, Global Hinduism and Hindu Universalism, are terms to characterize interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century. The term "Neo-Vedanta" was coined by German Indologist Paul Hacker, in a pejorative way, to distinguish modern developments from "traditional" Advaita Vedanta.
Religious harmony in India is a concept that indicates that there is love, affection between different religions in India. The Indian constitution supports and encourages religious harmony. In India, every citizen has a right to choose and practice any religion. There are examples of Muslims and Sikhs building temples. In India, different religious traditions live harmoniously. Seers of religions call for religious harmony in India. For popular film stars in India like Salman Khan, festivals of Hindus and Muslims are equal. According to Dalai Lama, India is a model for religious harmony. He mentions that "In the last 2000-3000 years, different religious traditions, such as Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, and others, have flourished here.". The whole concept of religious harmony is the most valuable treasure of India. In a lecture organized on the silver jubilee of Seshadripuram Educational Trust, Dalai Lama further said that though religions have various philosophies and spiritual traditions, all of them carry the same message of love. He also emphasized the importance of acknowledging each other as brothers and sisters. As mentioned by Dalai Lama, reviving ancient Indian knowledge helps us to live peacefully and in perfect harmony with other communities. This kind of knowledge guides us to the right path and paves the way for a happy and peaceful community and world.
Father, Son, and Holy War is a 1995 film by Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film is shot in two parts, with the first examining the link between the violence of the Hindu nationalist movement, such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and sexual violence against women. The second part looks at the nature of masculinity in contemporary urban India, and its role in encouraging sexual violence. As with other films of his, Patwardhan had to fight multiple court battles in order to force the national carrier Doordarshan to screen the film, a screening which eventually occurred on the orders of the Supreme court. The film received numerous national and international awards, and was also seen positively by critics.
The term "cultural Hindu" refers to Indians with a Hindu family background who have low observance of religious practices and whose identification with the Hindu religious tradition is primarily cultural or communal.
Terms such as "cultural Christian," "cultural Moslem," or "cultural Hindu" express the reality of seculariztion, where labels imply family descent, but not any practices.
