It's still not in common fashion in India to declare yourself as atheist, agnostic or animist, in government documents. Your religion is whatever you are born into (unless you take the trouble to formally convert convert to one of the established religions), it's an identity marker of your community, so you are not supposed to mess with it.
I am born into Hinduism (which is an umbrella-word really for very widely different religious philosophies and practices that originated broadly speaking within the Indian subcontinent) . I am certainly culturally very much influenced by Hinduism but do not practise it very much. The encyclopedia lists the common minimum and defining characteristics of Hinduism as : belief in the Vedas, reverence for the Holy Trinity (not the Catholic one but the far older creator-preserver-destroyer complex), and adherence to a social organization based on caste. I subscribe to none of these. So I am certainly not a practising Hindu. But I suspect this definition is of Western origin, and Hinduism is so nebulous, that I might still be one without observing any of these tenets - I can't be too sure. I am certain that I am not Muslim or Christian or Jewish of course, since they specifically insist on certain things, belief in God Almighty for one, which I do not necessarily subscribe to - what does that leave out? Buddhism or one of the many other Eastern philosophies. And New Age religions like Scientology or Paganism. If I were forced to pick any one religion at gunpoint, it'd be Buddhism, (but that sounds kinda ironic.)
So recently I had to fill out a visa form for Israel, and they wanted to know my religion (yeah it's a state founded on the basis of religion after all). For a second I toyed with the idea of leaving it blank, or even better write "Wiccan" in it, but then put in "Hindu" anyway. It could have happened from childhood habit, but the real reason is different. I was mainly eager to emphasize that I am not Muslim. Now that I have confessed, I will run back to work.
I am born into Hinduism (which is an umbrella-word really for very widely different religious philosophies and practices that originated broadly speaking within the Indian subcontinent) . I am certainly culturally very much influenced by Hinduism but do not practise it very much. The encyclopedia lists the common minimum and defining characteristics of Hinduism as : belief in the Vedas, reverence for the Holy Trinity (not the Catholic one but the far older creator-preserver-destroyer complex), and adherence to a social organization based on caste. I subscribe to none of these. So I am certainly not a practising Hindu. But I suspect this definition is of Western origin, and Hinduism is so nebulous, that I might still be one without observing any of these tenets - I can't be too sure. I am certain that I am not Muslim or Christian or Jewish of course, since they specifically insist on certain things, belief in God Almighty for one, which I do not necessarily subscribe to - what does that leave out? Buddhism or one of the many other Eastern philosophies. And New Age religions like Scientology or Paganism. If I were forced to pick any one religion at gunpoint, it'd be Buddhism, (but that sounds kinda ironic.)
So recently I had to fill out a visa form for Israel, and they wanted to know my religion (yeah it's a state founded on the basis of religion after all). For a second I toyed with the idea of leaving it blank, or even better write "Wiccan" in it, but then put in "Hindu" anyway. It could have happened from childhood habit, but the real reason is different. I was mainly eager to emphasize that I am not Muslim. Now that I have confessed, I will run back to work.
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