Culture Post #2
Religion and Respect.
Majority of the Indian population is of Hindu faith. Christianity and Islam are the minority religions in India. In this discussion, I will put forth the Hindu perspective.
In one of “culture talk” conversations, my language partner and I discussed the importance of religion and how that affects the larger society. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that believes in the existence and worshipping of multiple gods and goddesses. While majority of the Indian population is Hindu, different groups of people approach Hinduism in various manners. In this way, Hinduism is like any other major religion of the word were some practitioners are more conservative and traditional in their approach while others are more liberal and modern.
For an average Indian, religion is not crucial in their day to day life. Yet, religion makes up a large part of the Indian identity. The Indian government identifies a various religious holidays based on Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. This is an act of respect. Respect is a big part of the Indian culture. One does not have to be affiliated with any particular religion in order to appreciate and respect that particular faith.
As an Indian, when I hear the term “religion”, I automatically think of the tiff between Hinduism and Islam. The tensions between the groups that practice each religion trace back to numerous decades. The conflict is extremely overt and visible in the Indian society even today. When people gather to talk about the issue, the religions themselves are not targeted (and this is primarily because of the notion of respect that is engrained in the Indian society.) Instead, the people are opposed to “the other” group of people that practice the religion.
In my next culture post, I would like to pursue this topic further and inspect how religion plays a role in the relationships that people share with one another.
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