Hinduism in the United States

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Hinduism in the United States has been the subject of great controversy over time. Hindu immigration began in small amounts with the founding of the nation, but did not increase to a respectable volume until the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Services (INS) Act of 1965. Since then, the United States' growing Hindu population has enjoyed greater equality and attracted numerous scholars. However, the Hindu faith is still largely unknown, even as more temples are built.

Contents 1 History 2 Hindu temples in the United States 3 Status 4 Awareness 5 Statistics 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

Prior to 1965, Hindu immigration to the US was minuscule and isolated. In those earlier days, traders were primarily the only ones who bothered to set foot in the USA.

The Bellingham Riots in Bellingham, Washington on September 5, 1907 epitomized the low tolerance in the USA for Indians and Hindus. Despite such events, they continued to work and stay until the Immigration and Nationality Services (INS) Act of 1965 was passed.

This opened the doors to Hindu immigrants who wished to work and start families in the United States. It included preachers as well, who spread awareness of the religion among a people that had little contact with it.

In September of 1965, an elderly Indian sadhu named A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada arrived in New York. After a short time, he acquired a troupe of followers, and founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Other Indians of a Hindu faith, such as Chinmoy and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, started preaching missions that inspired many Americans to accept a Hindu belief system. Today, the most visible of the Hindu preachers appear to be those who sing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, i.e., the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, as well as other Vaishnavas, and those of a Shaivite faith. Today, numerous sadhus and Gurus live or visit the United States.

Many Hindu communities exist, from close knit communities of mainstream Hindus living near one another, to planned communities such as Vedic City, Iowa, and several farm communities owned by ISKCON.

[edit] Hindu temples in the United States

Many Hindu temples were constructed in the United States and are very popular with the Indian-American communities in the country. The web site Hindutemplehouston.net gives address and other important details about many large Hindu temples in Houston, Texas, and gives much information about Hindu thought and Hindu philosophy. The first Hindu temple in North America was the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Sri Venkateswara Temple was consecrated in 1976 and receives an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 pilgrims every year. Other prominent temples include:

• California
  • Hindu Temple near Malibu, California - The Hindu Temple, built in 1981 and located in Calabasas, is owned and operated by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California.
  • Hindu Community Cultural Center (aka. Shiva-Vishnu Temple) Livermore, California

• Murugan Temple of North America - The Murugan Temple of North America, built in the 1980s and located in Lanham, Maryland, is located next to the Washington Beltway (I-495) approximately 10 miles from Washington, D.C. It serves the Indian Hindu Community residing in the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan region. It has a floor area of 7000 square feet, with main Sannidhi for Lord Murugan (Lord Karthik) and four smaller Sannidhis for God Vinayaka (Lord Ganesha), God Siva, Goddess Meenakshi, God Palani Andavan and Goddess Durga. It also has a community center and auditorium that is available for use by the community.

• Texas
  • Hindu Temple North Texas, Plano
  • Hindu Temple, Dallas FortWorth
  • Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Temple, Dallas
  • Hare Krishna Temple, Dallas
  • Hindu Temple Central Texas, Temple
  • Meenakshi Temple, Pearland/Houston
  • Hare Krishna Dham, Houston
  • Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Temple, Houston
  • Hindu Worship Society, Houston
  • Shirdi Sai Jala Ram Mandir, Houston
  • Austin Hindu Temple, Austin
  • Barsana Dham, Austin
  • Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Temple, Corpus Christi
  • Hindu Temple of San Antonio

• Illinois
  • Sri Venkateswara Temple, Aurora
  • The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Lemont
  • Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Temple, Chicago

• Indiana
  • Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, Indianapolis

[edit] Status

The Hindus of America in modern times enjoy both de jure and de facto equality under the laws of the United States. Generations of Hindus, both of South Asian, as well as European ancestry, have lived and worked in the USA, raising families, buying homes, and making roots, rendering their culture and spirituality an integral part of the multi-faceted diamond that is the American Experience.

[edit] Awareness

Since Hinduism is a minority religion, there is little awareness about it among the general public. Many misconceptions, stereotypes exist and are sometimes further perpetrated by otherwise responsible entities (such as schools, school books, encyclopedic articles). It is widely perceived in America as a religion with caste and worship of the cow as its defining features. Those familiar with the religion will note that worship of the cow is rare and that the caste system is over-emphasised and exaggerated in the American conscience. In South Indian traditions, cattle reverence is done primarily during harvest festivals, due to the animal having contributed significantly to the agrarian lifestyle. The south Indian festival of Pongal reveres the cattle on a day known as Maattu Pongal by bathing and decorating them, and feeding them rich home-cooked savories.

[edit] Statistics

According to the United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 [1], the number of Hindus in the United States is approximately 1,478,670, or 0.5% of the total population.

The above figure consists of immigrants from countries where Hinduism is an indigeous belief and their descendants, as well as Americans who converted.

[edit] See also

Demographics of the United States

Demographics of the United States • Demographic history Economic - Social Educational attainment • Household income • Homeownership • Immigration • Income quintiles • Language • Middle classes • Personal income • Poverty • Religion • Social structure • Unemployment by state • Wealth Race - Ethnicity - Ancestry Race • Ethnicity on the US Census • Maps of American ancestries • 2000 Census • Race on the US Census • Racism Asian Americans • African Americans • Mexican Americans • Native Americans • Pacific Islander American White Americans • Caucasian Americans • European Americans • Middle Eastern Americans

• Californian Hindu textbook controversy
• Grand Hindu Sangams in September 2006

[edit] External links

• Hindu Americans Protest Call to Convert to Christianity By Republican Candidate in Minnesota
• The Council of Hindu Temples of North America
• State-wise list of Hindu Temples in USA with photos and addresses
• HinduTempleHouston.Net
• A historical perspective of Americans of Asian Indian origin
• Echoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California, 1899-1965 Struggles faced by the first immigrants
• Hindu American Foundation
• Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA
• Malibu Hindu Temple
• Sri Venkateswara Temple (Balaji Mandir)
• Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, MD
• Murugan Temple of North America
• United Temples - Temple Management Online Made Easy

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