Crossover Hinduism and Other Possible Categories When Dealing with Hinduism in Europe

Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger

doi:10.3390/rel12090745

Abstract

This article will discuss the difficulties in analysing and mapping Hinduism in Europe, and will present a suggestion for a working typology. The point of departure is Denmark as a geographically limited space. The aim of this article is to use the findings in Denmark and the suggested categories for groups to form a heuristic framework, or present some overall patterns that apply to other European countries. This is despite the special history of Denmark, which of course has to be taken into account—not least when it comes to its Hindu migration patterns, relations with the Hindu tradition among the public, and relations with religion in general (Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries are regarded as prototypically secular societies). The following categories or typologies will be presented from a polythetic point of view: (a) people or groups who understand themselves as Hindus by birth and by descent; (b) people or groups that can be understood as Hindu related; (c) people or groups that can be understood as being inspired by the Hindu religion. There is also a fourth category or better tendency, which will be called Crossover Hinduism. Crossover Hinduism can be understood as a form of dialectical network and entanglement, but also as a mutual reference point between the different groups. This representation of Hinduism will be the main focus of this article. The concept of Crossover Hinduism not only challenges concepts such as syncretism and eclecticism, but can also give an idea of how concepts flow and generate new meaning(s) that will have some kind of impact on the way the different groups can be associated with the Hindu tradition.

Highlights

I am a Hindu because I was born and brought up as a Hindu, but I am an atheist and I mostly go to the temple for social reasons
While many of the devotees of European descent have found what they understand as an alternative and meaningful religious or spiritual community they can relate to, many people of Indian Hindu descent find that she represents a form of Hinduism that suits their new way of living in a European society. With her as the pivot, they reconnect to a tradition from which they feel they have been disconnected. This is an example of how this form of Crossover Hinduism, representing both universality and authenticity in a unique way, becomes a common meeting point for all devotees no matter what their descent, or how much or in what way they link to the Hindu tradition
I trust that the examples provided in this article demonstrate that I do not regard Crossover Hinduism as an unrooted reservoir of floating signifiers

Summary

Introduction

I am a Hindu because I was born and brought up as a Hindu, but I am an atheist and I mostly go to the temple for social reasons. This is not least the case when religion is analysed on a global, national and local scale; but it applies when the focus is on the collective and/or individual level, between groups and minds— some practitioners or bearers of a given tradition regard it as immutable This is the case when it comes to Crossover Hinduism (see Figure 1); but what I see as important about this category or tendency is that concepts or worldviews are shared and defined as being important, but understood in different ways. These different understandings cross over the borders between the three proposed categories of groups in a constant flow This means that the new understanding(s) or interpretation(s) of one concept in one group, for instance, the way karma is understood as “feel-good karma” (Fibiger 2017a) in the group I call Hindu-inspired, can influence or extend the previous understanding of the same concept in the group comprising people of.

The group is openly

The Hindu-Inspired Group

The Hindu-Related Group

People of Hindu Descent

Findings

Conclusions