Steven W. Ramey is a Professor in Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, where he also directs the Asian Studies Program. His specialty is in contemporary issues surrounding identifications in India, which he addresses in his book Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh (Palgrave 2008), where he analyzes specifically the practices and contested definitions of communities identified as Sindhi Hindus. He has extended this analysis to reflect on issues in the academic and public discourse surrounding the category religion and issues of identifications in the United States and other contexts.

• ContentsPreface xi-xiii, Steven W RameyGeneral Questions1. Is Hinduism a Religion or Something Else? 3-5, Prea Persaud2. How Many People Follow Hinduism? 6-8, Steven W Ramey3. What is the Biggest Misconception People Have About Hinduism? 9-12, Maharshi Vyas4. Do All Hindus Speak Hindi? Is Hindi the Language of Hindus?13-15, Collin Sibley5. What are the Primary Ideas in Hinduism? 16-18, Brian K. Pennington6. Do Hindus Follow a Particular Philosophy? 19-21, Thomas B. Ellis7. What is the Ultimate Purpose or Goal of Hinduism? 22-24, Varun KhannaBeginnings8. What is the Creation Story in Hinduism? 27-29, Gil Ben-Herut9. Where and When did Hinduism Originate? 30-32, Thomas B. Ellis10. Who Founded Hinduism? 33-35, Jimi Wilson11. Where Does the Name “Hinduism” Come From? 36-38, Will Sweetman12. Where Did the Different Deities Come From? 39-41, Gil Ben-Herut13. Where Did the Concept of Caste Begin? 42-44, Gil Ben-HerutDevelopment14. Has Hinduism Changed Since its Creation? 47-49, Steven W Ramey 15. Are there Different Denominations Like Christianity? 50-52, Vincent E Burgess16. What are the Regional Differences in Hinduism across India? 53-55, Bhakti Mamtora17. How does Someone Become a Guru? 56-59, Antoinette DeNapoli18. Does Violent Extremism Exist in Hinduism? 60-63, Jimi Wilson19. Did Hinduism Change Drastically Because of the British Occupation of India? 64-66, Varun Khanna20. How has Hinduism Changed with India’s Modernization? 67-69, Richard S. Weiss21. How has the Internet Changed Hinduism Today? 70-72, Prea PersaudTexts and Stories22. How Many “Sacred Texts” does Hinduism have? 75-77, Steven W Ramey23. What are the Vedas? 78-80, Varun Khanna24. Was Reincarnation Included in the Texts that Hindus Follow? 81-83, Gil Ben-Herut25. What are the Most Important Stories in Hinduism? 84-86, Jennifer B. Saunders26. Some Guy Dressed in an Orange Robe Gave Me a Copy of the Bhagavad Gita. Was he Hindu? 87-89, Susan Prill27. What is the Bhagavad Gita? 90-93, Vincent E Burgess28. Can Things be Added to Hindu Texts? 94-96, Bhakti Mamtora29. How do Hindus Learn the Stories of Hinduism? 97-99, Katherine C. ZubkoGods and Goddesses30. How Many Gods are in Hinduism? 103-105, Vasudha Narayanan31. Which Deities are Most Popular? 106-109, Vasudha Narayanan32. What does Each God Represent? 110-112, Thomas B. Ellis33. Why do the Images of Some Gods or Goddesses have Unusual Features, Like an Elephant Head or a Monkey’s Tail? 113-115, Susan Prill34. Is the Hindu Goddess a Feminist? 116-119, Antoinette DeNapoli35. Are All of the Gods Equal in Ranking, or Do They Have Different Levels of Importance? 120-122, Steven W RameyPersonal Practices36. What are the Daily Practices that Hindus Try to Follow? 125-127, Bhakti Mamtora37. What are the Moral Codes of Hindus? 128-130, Maharshi Vyas38. How does One Become a Follower of Hinduism Typically? 131-133, Steven W Ramey39. What does Someone have to Believe to be a Hindu? 134-136, Richard S. Weiss40. Do Hindus Still have Arranged Marriages? 137-139, Susan Prill41. Why do Hindus Not Eat Beef? 140-142, Will Sweetman42. How does Caste Affect What a Person Does? 143-145, Brian K. Pennington43. What is the Meaning of the Mark on the Forehead? 146-148, Jimi Wilson44. What does a Guru do in Hinduism? 149-151, Joanne Punzo WaghorneRituals and Worship45. Are There Any Ceremonies that Hindus Hold Very Sacred? 155-157, Thomas B. Ellis46. How is Caste Determined? 158-160, Maharshi Vyas47. Is Yoga Important in Hinduism?161-163, Susan Prill48. What are Significant Holidays or Festivals for Hindus? 164-166, Steven W Ramey49. What does Worship in Hinduism Look Like? 167-169, Katherine C. Zubko50. Do Hindus Think That They Pray to Idols Rather Than a God Figure? 170-172, Aarti Patel51. With so Many Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism, how can a Hindu Manage to Worship all of Them? 173-175, Steven W Ramey52. Does Hinduism have a Weekly Time of Worship, Like Mass? 176-178, Prea Persaud53. Is the Temple a Central Location for Worship, and What is in the Central Place of Worship? 179-181, Aarti Patel54. Is the Design or Architecture of Temples Important?182-184, Aarti PatelHindus in Relation to Non-Hindus55. Is it Hard for Hindus to Practice in Places that have Other Dominant Religions? 187-189, Alexander Rocklin56. How do Hindus Live in Muslim Countries Like Pakistan, if Any do? 190-192, Jürgen Schaflechner57. Why is There Conflict between Hinduism and Islam? 193-195, Bhakti Mamtora58. What is the Main Difference between Hinduism and the More Popular Religions in America? 196-199, Michael J. Altman59. What do Hindus Think about Christianity? 200-202, Will Sweetman60. Can Someone Who is Not Hindu Visit a Temple? If so, How Should They Dress and Act? 203-205, Brian K. Pennington61. Do People Who are Not Hindu have a Caste? 206-208, Collin SibleyContemporary Issues62. What are Some Values Taught to Children? 211-213, Varun Khanna63. Do You have to be Indian to be a Hindu? 214-216, Collin Sibley64. How do Hindus Respond to Environmental Issues? 217-220, Vincent E Burgess65. Do Men and Women have Equality in Hinduism? 221-224, Antoinette DeNapoli66. Did Women have to Jump into the Fire when their Husband Died? 225-227, Brian K. Pennington67. What is the Hindu Response to People who Identify as LGBTQ? 228-230, Maharshi Vyas68. Why is there Discrimination Based on Caste? 231-233, Richard S. Weiss69. As India Continues to Grow and Become a More Developed County, will Hinduism Remain the Leading Religion? 234-236, Steven W Ramey70. Is Hinduism a More Peaceful than Other Religions? 237-239, Jürgen Schaflechner71. Why does Hinduism Seem to have Spread Less around the World than Other Major Religions? 240-242, Prea PersaudEnd MatterIndex 243-253