Cultural Hindus Explained

A Cultural Hindu is a religiously unobservant individual who identifies with Hinduism, usually due to family background.^[1]

Definition

Emory University professor John Y. Fenton defines the locution as follows:^[1]

The term has come into vogue as a result of secularization.^[2] Cultural Hindus, while not religiously devout, may still observe Hindu festivals, such as Diwali.^[3] For these individuals, this commemoration of Hindu festivals, as well as occasional temple attendance, serve as a celebration of their heritage.^[4]

See also

• Hindu atheism
• Cultural Christians, Christian culture
• Cultural Jews, Jewish culture
• Cultural Muslims, Islamic culture

Notes and References

1. Book: Fenton, John Y.. Transplanting Religious Traditions: Asian Indians in America. 1988. Greenwood Publishing Group. en. 9780275926762. 59. The term "cultural Hindu" refers to Indians with a Hindu family background who have low observance of religious practices and whose identification with the Hindu religious tradition is primarily cultural or communal..
2. Book: Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin. Psychological Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity. 21 August 2014. Taylor & Francis. en . 9781317610366. 307. Terms such as "cultural Christian," "cultural Moslem," or "cultural Hindu" express the reality of seculariztion, where labels imply family descent, but not any practices..
3. Web site: The Hindu Youth Research Project. 2001. The Oxford Center for Hindu Studies. en. 20 July 2017. 28 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161128091731/http://ochs.org.uk/sites/default/files/hindu-youth-research-project.pdf. dead.
4. Book: Brosius, Christiane. India’s Middle Class: New Forms of Urban Leisure, Consumption and Prosperity. 12 June 2012. Taylor & Francis. en. 9781136704833. 240.