Sarah Morelli

Pluralism project II
Class Hour: 9:00-9:50

Hinduism in America

America and India have been trading since the late 1700s and have maintained a
steady relationship over the years. From the 1960s to the 1970s Hindus became attracted to
Americas new policies and laws, regarding immigration. These policies brought immigration to
America from the Hindu religion. The immigration first began with young couples, students, and
professionals looking for work and planning on only making their trip to America temporary. After
receiving well paying jobs and having a comfortable life in America, the immigrants began to
make their stay more permanent.1

Hindus would practice their rituals in their homes as temporary temples to worship and
practice Hinduism. After Hindus began to realize they wanted to create their lives in America
they began to build temples and come together in communities. 2 The first Hindu temple of this
time period was built in New York and was consecrated on July 4, 1977. 3 The very first Hindu

1http://www.pluralism.org/religion/hinduism/america/immigrants"The Pluralism Project." Essays.

Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

2http://www.pluralism.org/religion/hinduism/america/immigrants The New Hindu Immigrants.

Essays. Web. 20 Nov. 2015

3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_the_United_States"Hinduism in the United States."

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

temple was built in 1906, by the Vedanta society in San Francisco. After that temples came
often every twenty 20 years.4 These temples were different from the temple in New York. The
temples built in California before the immigration wave, were used for scripture studying. After
more Hindus came to the United States, the main focus of temples changed. The use of
temples began to gear towards more of a place to worship and do rituals. This gave the new
students and young adults a place to feel at home. Hindu temples during this time period could
be categorized into two different groups. Some of the temples were built for specific devotional
communities, including Euro-Americans and Indian-Americans. Another temples were directed
as Hindu immigrant temples that were built for the Hindu immigrant community. The immigrant
temples would do different rituals to try and bring the community together in a more cultural way.

Hindu temples provide services on Sundays and some day through out the week
depending on the temple. The services consist of singing of prayers and often the priest will give
a sermon. During the services, often you will sit on the floor. For someone who doesn't know
anything about the Hindu religion, when you visit the temple you must take off your shoes
before you enter the temple, and modest clothing is preferred. People running the Hindu
temples are open to answering questions and talk with you as long as you give them the respect
of the temple. 5

4http://www.pluralism.org/articles/pechilis_hindu_temples Prentiss, Karen. "The Pluralism

Project at Harvard University." The Pattern of Hinduism and Hindu Temple Building in the U.S.
Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

5https://anglohindu.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/-a-hinduvisiting-temple/"Visiting a Hindu
Temple." The Anglo Hindu. 30 May 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Hindu priests are often the ones you care for the temples and run the services. The
priests will conduct devotions with the deities, and practice many rituals and ceremonies related
to the Vedic tradition. During ones life, someone could go to the temples for rituals such as
when you are born, married, when it is your birthday and when you die. One of the ceremonies
is a purification ceremony where the priest will remove negative energy from a home or living
space. 6

Puja is a worshiping ritual that occurs in almost all temples, and is the most common.
Puja stands for adoration and is conducted my a priest or a Pujari. The ritual can go up to
several hours but can sometimes last only ten minutes. The ritual consists of hand gestures,
chanting, singing, and worshiping of Deity. During the activity the Deity will receive a bath and a
change of clothes, and at the end of the ritual there is often a sacrament of flowers, water, or
fruit.7

Leadership in the Hindu religion can come to a person in different ways. Some are born
to be leaders who are Brahmins. Gurus will gain their leadership from being Brahmins and their
knowledge of the sacred texts, and rituals. The word guru means teacher and they are often
the ones teaching their religion to people in the temples. On can also have the privilege of
leadership through the way they live their lives and also their knowledge of the texts and many
rituals practiced. 8

6http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hindu_leadership Hindu Leadership." - New

World Encyclopedia. 4 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

7http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5315"Visiting a Hindu
Temple." Hinduism Today Magazine Back End. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Hindus believe in religious tolerance to an extent. They are willing to hear what people
have to say and treat other religions and their temples or sacred objects with respect as long as
they do the same. However they do not have a tolerance for anything associated with evil.
Hindus believe there are two major paths one can take in life and the lines are clearly drawn in
their texts which path is evil and which path is good. They believe these two paths align with
demons and god and they are constantly at battle. Therefore if something is associated with evil
it will not be tolerated.

Festivals are held often by Hindu temples for the public. These festivals occur around
their holidays and welcoming the new seasons. The festivals always consist of food, music, and
lots of color. Most festivals are open for anyone to come and join and they are happy to
welcome you to their festivals. The festivals are very lively and colorful with a lot of energy and
good vibes. Hindu festivals are a way for the religion to interact with its community, and fellow
religions from the area, while also celebrated their traditions.
Although Hindus have these festivals and open temples services to the public, the public
doesnt always understand their religion making it hard to live here at times. Hindus through out
history have had a difficult time with the diversity in America. After the 9/11 attack, things got
even harder for the Hindus and they were being even more misunderstood. Their religion has
experienced hate crimes such as graffiti, words, and other things used to express hate towards
a religion.

It is not only difficult for Hindus that are immigrants but it can be even more difficult for
Hindu Americans. The difference in culture is hard to balance, from home, church, school and
8http://www.patheos.com/Library/Hinduism/Ethics-Morality-Community/LeadershipClergy
Kinnard, Jacob. "Library." Leadership. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

work. The balance between immigrants and American Hindus can often cause tension in the
home.9 The tension is short lived due to their value of family and community. With immigration of
the Hindus, they had to adapt their religion to their environment with the practice of rituals in the
homes. This would have caused difficulties with children growing up and interacting with other
children or anyone who was not used to a worship space in ones home. 10

I have grown up with little knowledge of Hinduism, other than the years visit to the Hindu
temple for their festival of colors. Regrettably I admit to judging a Hindu when I see them
walking on the street or at school. I believe this is because I grew up seeing images of terrorists
and from living in Utah I had never seen someone like that before so my mind associated that
image of terrorists with anyone that looked Indian. This is very unfortunate because not only
was this the case for me but for most of my peers as well. Researching this religion, and
learning about it in class has opened my mind completely and I realized something I was doing
and have fixed it.

I found my research very interesting. My favorite part of doing the research for this paper
were the pictures used on the different websites. The Hindu religion is not only a religion but
also a strong culture and learning about the culture and how it ties into their religion so
seamlessly was fascinating to me. I loved learning about how the immigrants did everything
they good to bring their culture with them and also involve American values in their lifestyle. The

9https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKqlUxyQ7Cg"Growing up as Kashmiri Hindu in America Neil Raina." YouTube. YouTube, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

10https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI_POEipdE"Hinduism in America- CPD Guide to

Cultures in the United States Documentary." YouTube. Ed. MrVideogamesfootage. YouTube, 15
Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

way the parents taught and educated their children about their culture is why we have Hindu
temples and why they are continuing to be built. The devotion the Hindus have was something I
value from their religion and have great respect for.
As far as my research has gone, I could not find too much about how they contribute to
their community and the pluralism in the US. They are welcoming to other believes but they
know what they believe in and they are strong in their religion. From what I researched they do
not over homeless shelters or free food or anything of that matter but they are open to the public
and seem to be a very understanding community.