A Cultural Hindu is a religiously unobservant individual who identifies with
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, usually due to family background.
Definition
Emory University
Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
professor
John Y. Fenton defines the locution as follows:
The term has come into vogue as a result of
secularization
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
.
Cultural Hindus, while not religiously devout, may still observe and celebrate
Hindu festivals
Hindus celebrate a significant number of festivals and celebrations, many of which commemorate events from ancient India and often align with seasonal changes. These festivities take place either on a fixed annual date on the solar calendar ...
, such as
Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
.
For these individuals, this commemoration of Hindu festivals, as well as occasional
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
attendance, serve as a celebration of their heritage.
See also
*
Hindu atheism
Hindu atheism or non-theism, which is known as Nirīśvaravāda (Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: ) has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the ''Āstika and nāstika, Astika'' (Orthodox) streams of Hindu philosophy. Hindu Spiritua ...
*
Cultural Christians
Cultural Christians are those who received Christian values or appreciate Christian culture. They may be non-practicing Christians, non-theists, apatheists, transtheists, deists, pantheists, or atheists. These individuals may identify ...
,
Christian culture
Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions.
Christian culture has i ...
*
Cultural Jew
Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identi ...
s,
Jewish culture
Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...
*
Cultural Muslims
Cultural Muslims, also known as nominal Muslims, non-practicing Muslims or non-observing Muslims, are people who identify as Muslim but are not religious and do not practice the faith. They may be a non-observing, secular, or irreligious individu ...
,
Islamic culture
Islamic cultures or Muslim cultures refers to the historic cultural practices that developed among the various peoples living in the Muslim world. These practices, while not always religious in nature, are generally influenced by aspects of Islam ...
References
{{Culture
Hindu culture
Secularism in Asia