Overview | Early History Hinduism | Hindu Beliefs and Practices

The world's third largest religion

Overview:

Hinduism differs from Christianity and other Western religions in that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization. It consists of "thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BCE."

Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 762 million followers - 13% of the world's population. It is the dominant religion in India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. There are about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S., and about 157,015 in Canada.

Hinduism has traditionally been one of the most tolerant of religions. However, over the past few years, a Hindu nationalistic political party has controlled the government of India. Anti-Christian violence has escalated.

Name of the religion:

This religion is called:
Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion," and
Vaidika Dharma, "religion of the Vedas," and
Hinduism -- the most commonly used name in North America. Various origins for the word "Hinduism" have been suggested:
It may be derived from an ancient inscription translated as: "The country lying between the Himalayan mountain and Bindu Sarovara is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first letter 'hi' of 'Himalaya' and the last compound letter 'ndu' of the word `Bindu.'" Bindu Sarovara is called the Cape Comorin sea in modern times.

It may be derived from the Persian word for Indian.
It may be a Persian corruption of the word Sindhu (the river Indus)
It was a name invented by the British administration in India during colonial times.