Hinduism in Sweden

Last updated

The "Om" symbol in Devanagari Om symbol.svg
The "Om" symbol in Devanagari
Hindus in Sweden
Total population
13,000 (2020)Increase2.svg; 0.13% of total population
Regions with significant populations
All Over Sweden
Religions
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Indians in Sweden and Hindus

Hinduism is a minority religion in Sweden practised by 0.13% of the population or 13,000 people out of a population of 10.5 million. [1] Hinduism is practised mainly by persons of Indian origin and non-resident Indians together. A majority of them are Tamils, Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Telugu's and Kannadigas. [2]

Contents

History

Some Indian students who went to Sweden in the 1950s settled down there. Another stream of Indians came from Uganda in the 1970s. Some Indians sought and obtained political asylum after 1984. The Indian community is culturally very active. Different associations hold cultural functions and observe national days. [3]

There were also Tamil Hindu refugees from Sri Lanka and Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. After Sweden’s immigration policy reform in 2008, India has become a leading country of labor supply, mostly of computer specialists.

The Om symbol in Tamil used mainly in Saiva Hindu Temples built by Tamils. Tamilism Om.jpg
The Om symbol in Tamil used mainly in Saiva Hindu Temples built by Tamils.

Demographics

In 2005, there were between 7,000 to 10,000 Hindus. [4] Of the 10,000 Hindus, 2,000 were of Tamil origin [5] and 1,500 were of Bengali origin.

Hinduism is growing in Sweden due to the labour migration of Indian IT and other engineers. According to official Swedish government statistics, the number of inhabitants born in India was approximately 48,000 persons in 2021. In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated that there were approximately 13,000 Hindus in Sweden (0.13% of the population). [6]

Hindu Organisations in Sweden

Hindu Forum Sweden (HFS) is the major Hindu association in Sweden. HFS is an umbrella organization of Hindu Forum Europe (HFE). In 2018, this organization also celebrates Hindu festival Diwali with Hindus of Sweden, Swedish politicians and representatives of inter-religious groups. Other associations include:

International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Sweden

International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Krishna movement or Hare Krishna has its roots in the Hindu religion.

The Krishna movement in Sweden functions from a few places in Sweden.

Korsnas gard, main building 2014 Korsnas gard 2014d.jpg
Korsnäs gård, main building 2014

See also

Notes

  1. "Religion in Sweden". globalreligiousfutures.org.
  2. "Indian diaspora" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  3. "ibid" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  4. United States Department of State IRF 2005
  5. Tamilnation.org
  6. "National Profiles | World Religion". www.thearda.com. Retrieved 2023-10-30.

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