A Place at the Multicultural Table : : The Development of an American Hinduism / / Prema Kurien.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Kurien, Prema,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2007]; ©2007
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (320 p.)

Multiculturalism in the United States is commonly lauded as a positive social ideal celebrating the diversity of our nation. But, in reality, immigrants often feel pressured to create a singular formulation of their identity that does not reflect the diversity of cultures that exist in their homeland. Hindu Americans have faced this challenge over the last fifteen years, as the number of Indians that have immigrated to this country has more than doubled. In A Place at the Multicultural Table, Prema A. Kurien shows how various Hindu American organizations--religious, cultural, and political--are attempting to answer the puzzling questions of identity outside their homeland. Drawing on the experiences of both immigrant and American-born Hindu Americans, Kurien demonstrates how religious ideas and practices are being imported, exported, and reshaped in the process. The result of this transnational movement is an American Hinduism--an organized, politicized, and standardized version of that which is found in India. This first in-depth look at Hinduism in the United States and the Hindu Indian American community helps readers to understand the private devotions, practices, and beliefs of Hindu Indian Americans as well as their political mobilization and activism. It explains the differences between immigrant and American-born Hindu Americans, how both understand their religion and their identity, and it emphasizes the importance of the social and cultural context of the United States in influencing the development of an American Hinduism.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. The Transformation of Hinduism in the United States -- PART I. Popular Hinduism -- 2. Hinduism in India -- 3. Transplanting Hinduism in the United States -- 4. “We Are Better Hindus Here”: Local Associations -- 5. The Abode of God: Temples -- PART II. Official Hinduism -- 6. Forging an Official Hinduism in India: Hindu Umbrella Organizations -- 7. Forging an Official Hinduism in the United States: Hindu American Umbrella Organizations -- 8. Re-visioning Indian History: Internet Hinduism -- 9. Challenging American Pluralism: Hindu Americans in the Public Sphere -- PART III. The Relationship between Popular and Official Hinduism -- 10. Being Young, Brown, and Hindu: Student Organizations -- 11. The Development of an American Hinduism -- Notes -- Glossary -- References -- Index -- About the Author