Jainism in the United States

Last updated

American Jains
Jain Temple -02 by Jain Center of Greater Phoenix (JCGP).jpg
Total population
150,000 [1] [2]
Religions
Jainism
Languages
American English
South Asian Languages
Related ethnic groups

Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. Jain immigration began in earnest in the late 1960s and continues to the present day.

Contents

History

Poster announcing lecture by Virchand Gandhi Virchand Gandhi poster.jpg
Poster announcing lecture by Virchand Gandhi

In 1893, Virachand Gandhi became the first Jain delegate to visit the United States, representing Jainism in the first ever Parliament of World Religions. [3] As the first practicing Jain to speak publicly in the United States on Jainism, he is a key figure in the history of American Jainism. [1] The first St. Louis Jain temple in the United States was built for the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. After the fair, the temple moved to Las Vegas and later to Los Angeles. It is now owned by the Jain Center of Southern California. Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in 1944. [4] Jain immigration began in earnest in the late 1960s after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. The United States has since become a center of the Jain diaspora. [5]

From left to right: Virchand Gandhi, Hewivitarne Dharmapala, Swami Vivekananda, and (possibly) G. Bonet Maury Swami Vivekananda at Parliament of Religions.jpg
From left to right: Virchand Gandhi, Hewivitarne Dharmapala, Swami Vivekananda, and (possibly) G. Bonet Maury

The first former Jain monastic to travel to the United States, Chitrabhanu, arrived in 1971. He gave several lectures about Jainism at Harvard University and established a Jain center in New York City. The first monk who traveled outside India by use of mechanical means was Acharya Sushil Kumar who arrived in the United States in 1975. [6] He established multiple Jain centers, including International Mahavira Jain Mission popularly known as Siddhachalam. [7] In the 1980s, he and Chitrabhanu inspired the founding of Federation of Jain Associations in North America to support the Jain community in the United States and Canada. [7]

As of 2010 the United States contained the most Jain temples of any country in the Jain diaspora. [1] At least one third of the Jains living outside India live in the United States, numbering close to 150,000. [1] [2] Jain temples in the United States, which numbered 26 as of 2006, frequently incorporate marble and arches in a style reminiscent of Rajasthan architecture. [1] There are almost 100 distinct Jain congregations in the United States. [7]

Many Jains in the United States are professionals. [5] They also frequently volunteer at animal welfare organizations. [1] Many Jains also attend Hindu temples and Hindu events. [8]

Jain sects

According to The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, "Most American Jains agree that the sectarian streams of Jainism that have been significant in India for 2,000 years are fast losing their currency in 20th century America...The sectarian divisions of the Jain tradition have been left behind as Jain Americans concentrate on the difficult task of appropriating the tradition in a new environment." As noted below, many Jain temples in the United States contain images from both the Digambara and Śvētāmbara traditions. Jain conventions and gatherings in America feature teachings from both sects. [9] [10]

Federation of Jain Associations in North America and Siddhachalam

Main temple at Siddhachalam Jain center at New Jersey. Images of the tirthankaras Mahavira, Chandraprabha, Rishabha, Shantinatha and Parshvanatha. Siddhachalam1.jpg
Main temple at Siddhachalam Jain center at New Jersey. Images of the tirthankaras Mahavira, Chandraprabha, Rishabha, Shantinatha and Parshvanatha.

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America is an umbrella organization of local American and Canadian Jain congregations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism and the Jain way of life. [11] Siddhachalam [12] in New Jersey is the first pilgrimage site for Jains outside India, bringing together all Jains in one place for worship, study and reflection. [13]

Jain symbols

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America uses a modified version of the standard Jain symbol, the Jain emblem. It replaces the swastika with an om because the former is not considered a pious symbol in the western world. [14]

Jain studies

Florida International University hosts the Bhagwan Mahavir Professorship in Jain Studies, the first Jain Studies chair at a North American university. In 2016, the Jain Society and Rice University signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a post-doctoral fellowship in Jain studies. [15]

American Jain centers

Category:Jain temples in the United States

Jain temple in Monroeville, Pennsylvania Hindu Jain Temple, Monoroeville, PA, USA. - panoramio.jpg
Jain temple in Monroeville, Pennsylvania

The Jain Center of America was the first Jain center in the United States. It opened in New York City in 1982. [16] Since then, over 100 Jain centers and temples have opened in America. [17] Most Jain centers are complexes that include a main temple housing Digambara and Śvētāmbara images, libraries, meeting rooms, guest rooms, and so forth.

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

Das Lakshana (Paryushana) celebrations at the Jain Center of America, Queens, New York City, the oldest Jain temple in the Western hemisphere Das Lakshana (Paryusana) celebrations, New York City Jain temple.JPG
Das Lakshana (Paryushana) celebrations at the Jain Center of America, Queens, New York City, the oldest Jain temple in the Western hemisphere

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

Notable Jain Americans

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh</span> Hindu nationalist organisation in India

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar, which has developed a presence in all facets of Indian society and includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling political party under Narendra Modi, the 14th prime minister of India. Mohan Bhagwat has served as the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS since March 2009.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jain temple</span> Place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism

A Jain temple, Derasar or Basadi is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings generally reflect the prevailing style of the place and time they were built.

Jainism is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the śramaṇa tradition. It prescribes ahimsa (non-violence) towards all living beings to the greatest possible extent. The three main teachings of Jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada (non-absolutism), aparigraha (non-possessiveness). Followers of Jainism take five main vows: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha. Monks follow them completely whereas śrāvakas (householders) observe them partially. Self-discipline and asceticism are thus major focuses of Jainism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jainism in Europe</span>

The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain, with a population of about 25,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramjee Singh</span> Indian academic, philosopher, and politician

Ramjee Singh is a former Member of Parliament and vice-chancellor of Jain Vishva Bharati University. He is an eminent Gandhian and is the author of a number of books on him. He was also the director of Gandhian Institute of Studies, Varanasi, India. In January 2020 he was awarded the fourth highest civilian award in the country: The Padma Shri for Social Work. His life has been a blend of being a Gandhian academician as well as an activist. Singh has declared Mahatma Gandhi as the Bodhisattva of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishva Hindu Parishad</span> Hindu nationalist organisation

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is an Indian right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve and protect the Hindu Dharma". It was established to construct and renovate Hindu temples, and deal with matters of cow slaughter and religious conversion. The VHP is a member of the Sangh Parivar group, the family of Hindu nationalist organisations led by the RSS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sushil Kumar (Jain monk)</span> Indian Jain monk

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">JAINA</span> Jain religious organization

JAINA is an acronym for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, an umbrella organizations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism in USA and Canada. It was founded in 1981 and formalized in 1983. Among Jain organization it is unique in that it represents Jains of all sects, and thus effectively represents the entire Jain community in USA and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jain schools and branches</span> Major schools of thought

Jainism is an Indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twenty-four spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. Broadly, Jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, Digambara and Svetambara. These are further divided into different sub-sects and traditions. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brahma Jinalaya, Lakkundi</span>

The Brahma Jinalaya, sometimes called as the Greater Jain Temple of Lakkundi, is an early 11th-century Mahavira temple in Lakkundi, Gadag District of Karnataka state, India. The temple is attributed to Attiyabbe, the wife of the local governor Dandanayaka Nagadeva. It faces east, has a mukhamandapa, a gudhamandapa and its sanctum is covered by a sur-temple style vimana superstructure. The temple is notable for its reliefs depicting Jaina artwork, statues of the Tirthankaras and the two statues of Brahma and Saraswati inside its inner mandapa.

Sompura Salat are a Hindu stone-worker community of Gujarat, They are also found in southern Rajasthan, specially in the Mewar region. Their origin is said to be from Prabhas Patan famous for the Somnath temple. The term "salat" is derived from Shilavat, the old term for a temple architect.

The history of Jainism in Australia is relatively short when compared to the history of Christianity on the same continent. There are four Jain centres in Australia. The Jain population in Australia was counted in the 2016 census to be 4,047, of whom 38% lived in Greater Sydney, 31% in Greater Melbourne, and 15% in Greater Perth. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Jains are Western Australia (0.025%) and Victoria (0.022%), whereas those with the lowest are Queensland (0.006%) and Tasmania (0.001%). As per the latest census (2021), the Jain population in Australia is 5,851, which is a 44.5% increase between 2016-1021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jainism in the United Kingdom</span>

Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Britain, mainly England, has since become a center of the Jain diaspora with a population of 40,000 in 2007.

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Jainism and Hinduism are two ancient Indian religions. There are some similarities and differences between the two religions. Temples, gods, rituals, fasts and other religious components of Jainism are different from those of Hinduism.

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Further reading