A Survey on Hinduism

As part of the second issue of Moksha, we set out to take a census of how Hindus worldwide view their religion. An e-mail was sent via HSC-Talk to all HSC members. We received a tremendous response from people of all ages and all walks of life. The answers received were in response to the following questions:

1. Do you feel that Hinduism is:
a. Pluralistic
b. Monotheistic
c. Other (please specify)

2. How does Hinduism compare to Western religion?
a. Very similar
b. Somewhat similar
c. Somewhat dissimilar
d. Very dissimilar

3. On what do you base your understanding of Hinduism?
a. Family
b. Society
c. Texts
d. Combination (please specify)

4. Do you feel Hinduism is:
a. Static
b. Dynamic
c. Neither

5. How applicable is Hinduism to your life?
a. Very applicable
b. Somewhat applicable
c. Not applicable

As can be seen in the following figure, there does not seem to be an agreement as to the pluralistic or monotheistic nature of Hinduism, although a majority believes that it is a monotheistic system.

These results highlight an ongoing debate within religious circles as to whether the pantheon of deities constitutes many forms of the same God or whether these deities are separate Gods unto themselves.

In response to question 2, we found some interesting results. An equal number of people believed that the two religious classes were somewhat similar or very dissimilar. A slightly smaller number reported that the two are somewhat dissimilar, and a small percentage of respondents indicated that the two are very similar. This result is to be expected, as the two religions share many qualities that are similar, while they also have a host of attributes that are dissimilar.

The vast majority of respondents attributed their understanding of Hinduism to a combination of factors. No one based their understanding on society alone, which indicates there is a heavy reliance on personal rather than external sources of understanding.

Most people relied on all three factors - family, society, and texts. As shown in the figure below, the familial component in one's understanding of Hinduism is undeniably strong. Furthermore, it appears that societal input alone cannot provide one with a complete understanding of Hinduism.



By far, the majority of people found Hinduism to be dynamic as opposed to static. Perhaps it was summed up best by one respondent when she wrote, "[Hinduism is] static in its basic texts, but [it is] dynamic in its interpretations." This corresponds directly to question five, as most of those who believed Hinduism to be dynamic also found it to be very applicable to their lives.

While not absolute, this is a logical conclusion, because if Hinduism is dynamic, then it can be adapted to suit virtually any life in any time and place, thus becoming applicable.

Not a single response was received that stated Hinduism was not applicable at all; this is most likely a function of the people that were surveyed. The survey was sent out through HSC, so those who responded have a vested interest in Hinduism, and inherently must feel that it is in some way applicable to their own lives.

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Ms. Chawla is currently a first-year student at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, MO

Mr. Mittal is a senior currently pursuing his B.A. in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and his M.A. in Biotechnology at Boston University, Boston, MA