2006/12/01 by Prema Kurien · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Race, History, and American Society #Asian American and Pacific Histories #Religion and Society Interactions #Hinduism #Multiculturalism #Politics #Ethnic group #Institutionalisation #Sociology #Gender studies #Religious studies #Political science #Law #Anthropology #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.1353/sof.2007.0015
openalex publication_date 2006/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
How non-Christian religious groups should be politically recognized within Western multicultural societies has proved to be a pressing contemporary issue. This article examines some ways in which American policies regarding religion and multiculturalism have shaped Hindu Indian American organizations, forms of public expression and activism. Specifically, I look at three examples of the impact of such policies on Hindu Indian Americans representing strategic arenas in the socio-political recognition of ethnic groups, and also crucial moments in the institutionalization of an American Hinduism. I also show how the activism of Hindu Americans is reshaping the contours of religion, society and politics in the United States.