12 Diversities and Identities: Religion and religious organisations

INTRODUCTION

The Indian community is one of the fastest growing diasporic communities across the globe. As has been documented extensively, Indian diaspora is a misleading category when used in the singular, since it is marked by heterogeneity and diversity. This diversity is not only related to diverse regions of origin; it extends to a range of languages spoken, different social backgrounds from where immigrants come from, their religious orientations, etc; the policies and politics of migration and multiculturism in the hostlands, and the way these interweave with a extensive array of migrant occupational profiles – spanning skilled IT professionals, business elites, unskilled laborers, refugees and others with a resulting gender, caste and class composition that is compound and complex, as documented by Lal (2006) Jayaram (2011), Gallo (2014) and others. Thus, there are diversities of many kinds. Firstly, in India itself, there is a diversity of religion, region, language, class and occupation, caste and ethnicity. Then, there is the difference in the historical period of emigration. Finally there are the variations in policies and attitudes in the host countries themselves. Nevertheless, behind all the heterogeneities lies the universal diasporic penchant towards religion and religiosity that stems from an existential need brought on by traumatic separation from homeland and the struggle to survive in a new country. My focus in this module is on religion, religious diversity, religious expression and religious adaptation in the Indian diaspora.

1.1 Importance of Studying Diasporic religion

Vertovec (2000) has highlighted the importance of studying religion in the diaspora namely that they enable us to comprehend religious transformation in general. Rosales (2014: 194) reiterates that understanding household level of performances and meanings attributed to rituals and ceremonies allows us to comprehend the relations between place, culture, and ethnicity among diasporic communities across the globe. Vertovec (2000: 9) has noted that diasporic religious patterns may affect the development of religion in the homeland as well. The education, wealth, and contact with foreign influences transmitted from the diasporic populations may perhaps vitally affect the organization, belief and practices in the home country. From Cohen’s perspective (1997:189), “religions can provide additional cement to bind a diasporic consciousness.” Jain and Forest (2007: 817) talk about a sense of solidarity created by the practice of certain rituals or traditions in a particular place, or with the people of a particular organization.

1.2 Religion and Migration

It has been noted that immigrants become more religious after migrating (Williams 1988:11). This is true, even when they migrate to the west, where religion does not have a high public profile, and it is especially true of new immigrants (Van der Veer 1994). However, the manner in which it manifests itself in the diaspora has some points of difference from the homeland. Ferraris and Sai (2014: 172) have documented Moya’s research (2005) that religious associations are a natural expression of pre-migratory and post- migratory religiosity and that religion becomes relevant in associational life whenever it is connected to ethno-national identity.

Thomases argues that the diaspora does not simply imitate the homeland culture and religious practices at the hostland, but one allows for certain reconsideration of ideas. In his words, “this involves careful deliberation rather than simple replication.” Therefore, it can be noted that religiosity is not a mere attachment to the homeland traditions, but it is also about asserting one’s difference from the host land and a claim for recognition and rights.

1.3 Religion, Ethnicity and Nationalism

Religion as a category exists in close proximity to the other two categories of ethnicity and nationalism as a basis for identity. Jain and Forest (2007) show how relationship among religious practices, social organization and geographic context can alter a group’s social solidarity from a religious to an ethnic basis. In USA, Jain immigrants lack the critical mass needed to sustain strictly Jain temples and religious associations. Hence, they join temples with mixed- religion membership. This could be seen not so much as replacing of religion per se ,but as a syncretic and ecumenical blending of different but compatible religions, against the backdrop of shared ethnicity and nationalism. Temple building in this sense includes organized communities and traditional practices, which nurture a comprehensive ‘Indian’ identity as opposed to a specific Jain identity in the USA. Through these practices of temple building, Jains develop ties to the homeland, creating a sense of ethnicity and a formation of group identity. This shift is a product of the particular geographic context Jains encounter in the USA. Jain and Forest draw from Appadurai’s argument on the unstable nature of transnational ethnic identity; that group identity is no longer a familiar concept bound by territory, history, or cultural homogeneity, but rather a shifting concept based on the transnational movement of people who translocate their native traditions and way of life. Immigrants’ and their families efforts to maintain religious practice aids in creating an ethnic identity that is based on a symbolic connection to one’s homeland.

1.4 Impact of globalization

The above points are relevant in any migration and diasporic situation. But globalization of the last few decades has given diasporic religion a distinct personality. Bhat and Narayan (2010) have documented the processes of globalization that have created a greater interdependence between nation states across all borders, in trade, commerce, religion and spiritualism and many other dimensions. Sahoo (2007) has highlighted how Indian diasporic communities have re-constructed their religious and cultural identities in the course of participation in various spiritual/religious movements of the homeland. These include for the most part, relatively benign engagements aimed at individual and community well-being, but have also included violent political movements for secession on the basis of religion (like the Khalistani movement) and consolidation for a political interpretation of Hindutva (like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad). These movements have been fueled by rise in international migration accompanied by the revolution in ICT. In particular, new age religious/spiritual movements have enabled the Indian diasporic communities to connect with their homeland, while offering space for transnationalism of spiritualism. One can witness that with the ascendance of mass media and global electronic communications, the diffusion of religious practices and beliefs has been a result of an easy communication network of religious and spiritual ideas through blogs, social networking sites, websites, films, etc., among other things. Now religious and spiritual movements among the diaspora have a strong organizational link to sacred places or individuals in India. For instance, in the Art of Living Centres in Germany or the Sathya Sai Baba Centres in Diaspora, one can find special stalls where books, CDs and DVDs on their respective spiritual leaders are exhibited for sale apart from an assortment of ethnic foods, just as it is done in Ashrams in Bangalore or Prasanthi Nilayam on special occasions.

2. INDIAN DIASPORA: RELIGIOUS LIFE AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

Indian diasporic communities are a religiously diverse group. One can note from the demographics that, while the majority of the emigrants are Hindus, Gulf countries have a numerical predominance of Muslims, who are also to be found in a fair number in North America and UK. UK and Canada also have a lot of Sikh and Punjabi communities, and certain occupations like nursing in a number of countries are dominated by Christian women from Kerala. Parsis, and Jains are a small community in India but are spread across the globe too in disproportionately large numbers.

According to Pew Research Centre 2012, in USA, 51% (of Indian Americans) consider themselves Hindus, 18% as Christians (Protestant 11%, Catholic 5%, Other Christian 3%), 11% as Muslims, 5% as Sikh, 2% as Jain and 10% are Unaffiliated (Pew Research Centre 2012). According to Countrystudies.us, almost all South African Indians are either Hindu, Muslim or Christian. There are also small groups of Parsis, Sikhs, and Buddhists. Nearly half (47.3 percent) of Indians are Hindu, 49 percent are either Muslim (24.6 percent) or Christian (24.4 percent), and 3.7 percent fall into other categories. The majority of South African Muslims are Indian or belong to the multi-ethnic community in the Western Cape (Countrystudies.us & US State Department 2005). Ceri Peache’s (2006) analysis of the 2001 Census gives us more information on the Indian-origin population. Indians demonstrate substantial religious diversity: 45 percent are recorded as Hindus, 29.1 percent as Sikh, 12.7 percent as Muslim, and 4.9 percent as Christian, with small numbers of Buddhists, Jains and other religions or ‘religion not stated’. Hindu Temples, Sikh Gurdwaras and Muslim Mosques have become common throughout England. In Germany, the preconditions for worship fluctuate among the different religious groups within the Indian Diaspora (Gottschlich 2007: 12). Whereas more than 26 million Catholics, a roughly equal number of Protestants, and 3.3 million Muslims in Germany by now comprise important religious societies before the arrival of Indians, the Hindu and Sikh communities are almost entirely made up of South Asian immigrants (Ibid : 12).

None of these aforementioned religions are homogeneous. They have further sub divisions based not only on doctrinal differences but also regional, linguistic and ethnic differences which affect religious practice.

This module takes up the case of diasporic Hinduism in some detail, since it constitutes the overwhelming majority in the Indian diaspora. Other religions will also be referred to as illustrations. Hinduism has several internal religious divisions. However, this module does not delve into the fine doctrinal differences because over the last few centuries, a certain overarching common belief system has emerged that can be called ‘Hindu’, despite internal variations. Still, there are three categories that need to be differentiated within diasporic Hinduism. Firstly orthodox canonical Hinduism (what is called in North India as ‘Sanatani’) which of course has distinct regional manifestations, particularly the northern and southern Indian Hinduisms. Secondly, there are a number of reformist sects that arose during the British period, that sought to modify, eliminate superstitions, go back to the Vedas etc, such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission which have not only influenced Hindus in India but also in the diaspora. The third category consists of what can be called ‘New Age’ or ‘charismatic’s sects, which draw broadly from Hinduism but are open to people from other religions as well without having to change their official religion.

2.1 Adaptations in Hostland

The nature and extent of religious adaptations is an important topic in the study of diasporic religion, because on the one hand, adaptation is inevitable, given the need to negotiate and reconcile with hosltand policies, organizational structure and ethos. On the other, diasporics bring a sense of reflection to their religious practice and emphasise on authenticity.

A simple example of adaptation is the location and timings of gurdwaras and temples. Gurdwaras in India are open all days a week. However, often in the diaspora, the gurudwara is open only on Sunday, because of financial reasons, distance from homes of devotees and lack of time to visit. For example, Hirvi descibes the situation in Finland, where the gurdwara serves langar (traditional food) solely on Sunday. Besides this, the Sikhs cannot erect the Nishan Sahib (an important symbol of worship) on the outside of the allotted building for the gurdwara. In order to do so, they have to contend with the local authorities and Finnish bureaucracy (Hirvi 2010:84) and undergo countless formalities. As a result, they decided to host the Nishan Sahib inside and not outside the gurudwara: this is an expedient example of how the physical setting and the external requirements compelled the Sikh community to undergo structural adaptation (Ibid:85). In Rome, on the other hand, Sikhs have established several sites of worship, wherever they settle, because of lack of good public transport systems. These sites are still rented as the property rates in Rome are very high. As a result, sustaining the cost of mortgages in the capital city is easier said than done. One could read the presence of several sites of worship as a sign of well-established settlements. However, it is the external requirements i.e. of not having good public transport systems that compelled the Sikh community to adapt and erect several sites of worship (Ferraris and Sai 2014: 179).

In another instance, Callaghan (1998:3) notes that in Trinidad, due to domination of Christianity, the nature of Hinduism and Islam practiced by the Indian diasporic community was affected. For years, non- Christian marriages were not legally valid. Offspring’s of such marriages were deemed as illegitimate; cremation rites were not available until the 1980’s and so on. Also the structure of the working week, as well as official holidays followed Christian custom. This had an effect on the Hindu community celebrations as Christian norms and not astrology had to be followed for choosing auspicious dates. . Hindus were affected by being labeled as pagans (Ibid 1998:1). Presbyterian Canadian Mission in Trinidad has prompted the rise of Hindu organizations like schools and temples, their agenda being to curtail the tide of conversions (Callaghan 1998: 4).

2.2 Generation and Gender in Religious behavior

Even though everyday practice, nurturance of religions at home and at school, being a part of formal places of worship etc, all shape the identities of diasporic children, differences surface between the first and subsequent generations. Often there are certain conditioning factors such as being exposed to the education system in the host country, a secular society and civil discursive practices that influence children (Vertovec 2000:14). Compartmentalization of religion, Often, roles of women in families and in the wider community experience sizeable change in the diaspora. This is illustrated by Qureshi’s study of how Sikh women, negotiate with the management of a gurdwara in Britain, which is rooted in male dominance; the emergence of women only Sikh associations is a sign of their taking up leadership roles (e.g.: Kauregeous). Besides this, diasporic women also contribute in re-producing religious practices in the private realm by undertaking religious practices at home. This shows how gender and generational strands within ‘religious communities’ construct their legitimacy within existing majority traditions.

On Sunday 30th June, Kaurageous Leicester along with a couple of runners from the LSA, took part in this year’s ‘Race for Life’ in aid of Cancer Research UK.

(Image courtesy:http://www.sikhalliance.com/2013/08/kaurageous-leicester-race-for-life-2013.html)

2.3 Political response to hostland

Visible markers of religious identity may remain unstressed or may be stressed upon at different times, depending on the politics of identity in the hostland environment. If immigrants to a particular country are few in number, and have to struggle to establish themselves, they downplay the external markers of religious identity. But in other situations, where they perceive the need to assert themselves, they highlight their religious identity through sartorial modes.

For example, in Italy, Ferraris and Sai (2014: 179) note that Sikhs, in order to integrate with the host society, have long implemented an approach to ‘invisibility’. They’ve had their beards shaved and uncut hair cut, removed their turbans, and adopted a representation of an ‘Indian’ rather than solely of a ‘Sikh’ identity. However, recently, after the attacks on them, mistakenly being taken for Muslims, the Sikhs have been propelled to display a ‘proper Sikh’ identity (Ibid: 180). They used the xenophobic attitudes of Italy towards Muslims to promote a differential self-representation of Sikhism as a religion of tolerance. Sikhs have thus, been able to put themselves forward as the ‘non-threatening other’ (Ibid: 180). It has given them a comforting image amongst the Italians, which has enabled the establishment of suitable sites of worship and prayers.

2.4 Immigrants and the politics of recognition

The aforementioned points underline how the burden of being ‘good citizens’ – who do not cause trouble to the local authorities – befalls on the diasporic population. Discussing the politics of recognition, Vertovec talks about campaigns engaged by immigrant associations, for legal tolerance or cultural rights, freedom from discrimination, and access to public resources. These needs arise due to minority status (2000: 14). Apart from the instances given above, practices such as animal slaughter for Muslims, demand for halal foods in food outlets, asking for legal protection against religious discrimination, and so on. Ferraris and Sai (2014:171) explore how gurdwaras as physical and institutional spaces have been established in diverse locations, and how public performances of religious belonging can show different degrees of integration within local contexts. Building of mosques, gurdwaras and temples, and celebration of festivals through public display, performance and processions, all of which occupies a substantial part of diasporic activity, is no doubt an expression of religiosity answering existential needs of the diaspora. Yet, at some levels, it is simultaneously an attempt to engage in the politics of recognition with the host society and claim public space as legitimate residents or citizens. We shall explore this aspect further in our next section where we look at the multiple functions of temples in the diasporic context.

3. PLACES OF WORSHIP IN THE INDIAN DIASPORA

Whether they are temples or gurdwaras or mosques, apart from a religious role, they also play socio-cultural and political roles in the diasporic context. The following section focuses on Hindu temples as an illustration, since they are a ubiquitous phenomenon. Many of the insights hold true for places of worship of other religions as well.

One of the changes in the diasporic context is the shift of religious activity from the home to a community space. This process is applied to a wider range of ethnic religious places – mosques, gurdwaras, temples, shrines, etc that are perceptibly slicing out spaces in the hostland municipalities. ‘Templeisation’ alludes to a crucial shift of religious and ritual practices and observances from the private domains to the public domains; a shift from worship by mothers, wives and daughters to men and priests (Baumann 2009:149).

Peach and Gale (2003: 482) identify four stages in the establishment of public places of worship in England. The first is: ‘Private’ alteration of houses into prayer rooms. The second stage is the use of abandoned churches or warehouses at a larger distance from where the faith communities reside. The third and the fourth stages incorporate the ‘onset of domes, minarets and Hindu towers’. This is a taxing process because they need the approval by authorities.

Through building places of worship, the Indian communities express a “confident assertion of their negotiated terms of belonging with British Society”(Peach and Gale 2003:487). According to Baumann, a temple has both- a private and a public dimension. The public aspect is established through religious processions and festivals. Temple then, provides its people with a “legitimate ritual space” and in “strengthening of religious identities” (Bauman 2009:174). Gallo (2014:17) notes that South Asian communities throughout Europe are involved in the process if legitimating the visibility of religious places at public level, by progressively shifting away from the initial religious gatherings on the periphery or in the privately rented houses, in order to claim a rightful space in the urban or semi-urban fabric (Gallo 2014: 17).

However, Ganesh (2014:19) reiterates that templeisation may not always be a process of highlighting politics of recognition in another host country. Temples are also connected to ethnic nationalism, histories of displacement, and civil war: in other words, relationship to the homeland.

3.1 Building a presence: Structure and Function of diasporic temples

One of the common expressions of Indian religiosity is building a place of worship – temple, mosque, or church, which, apart from religious and spiritual needs, serves social and cultural functions as well. This is true of diasporic Indians as well, where places of worship take on several additional functions: we shall discuss these in some detail presently.

The first wave of consolidated temple building in the west, as noted by Jasper (2001), began in the 1970s. Instead of aligning with the already established new age centres like ISKCON, which gained popularity around the 60’s, the Indian diasporic community began the temple building process on their own. This is in itself an adaptation to religious life in USA.

3.1.1 Social intermingling and cultural roots

In Indian diasporas in the US, UK, Europe festivals that are normally celebrated in homes are celebrated in temples. Many weddings and community celebrations are also held in the temples. Ferraris and Sai (2014) reiterate that apart from continuing to cultivate the practice of religion, temple building process or establishment of places of worship provide one with a space for reunion, aggregation and support for the members of the community.

Often times, religious places are designed in a way offering language, cultural and religious coaching to help the second generation cope with problems of double identity. Thomases (2004) notes that in America, he states, the temples act as a “nexus of cultural expression”, where children are taught various aspects of the traditions, and adults intermingle socially.

Community celebration of festivals in and around the temple precincts, become occasions for display and consumption of homeland culture: be it literature, music, dance, theatre, yoga, cuisine, and so on. Ganesh (2014:243) notes that temples offer Tamil migrants in Germany a space to enhance their political and cultural identity. They hold Tamil language, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam classes and at times even sponsors sports activities.

These activities also serve to socialize the younger generation into community values and norms.

3.1.2 Building the image of the community in the hostland

As noted earlier, temples, gurdwaras and mosques have a role in projecting diasporic presence in the hostland. In parts of Europe for instance, which have long been mono-religious, public presence of Christianity is accepted, but immigrants and minorities have had to struggle for their rights to visibility in the public sphere. Baumann’s work in Switzerland and Germany highlights how temples and mosques have engaged in protracted engagement and negotiation with the state and with the popular domain to win acceptance for public festivities and processions . (Baumann 2009), Ferraris and Sai (2010) describe how certain religious activities practiced by Sikhs contribute to the spatial organization of gurdwaras, and emphasise an exoticised and folklorisitic image of the ‘community’ in the eyes of the host society.

Diasporic communities’ public religious performances offer intriguing ethnographic occasions, according to Ferraris and Sai, to gain an insight about the negotiations taking place between the diasporic communities and the local institutions. Religious festivals can indeed be understood as performative actions, in which diasporic communities express their identity; to lay claim to the public sphere, to fortify internal solidarity as well as to make statements in dialogue with the receiving polity and society, as Gallo (2014) argues.

Public religious performances do not just highlight the diasporic community’s expression of identity. Gallo (2014) gives some examples how in the recent years, migration and religion have all the time more entwined to transform the urban fabric of the hostland locations, especially the European locations. For instance, the Ganesha Festival organized by Jain and Hindu business elites, contributes to the urban and cultural religious landscape in the city of Antwerp; a mosque became a cite of discussion and criticism by Pakistani women at Norway; In London, Kathak professionals perform Indian Classical dance to convey a Hindu-inflected message of Universal divinity to the wider audience and young migrant generations. New religious contours are being expressed within majority religious traditions and majority political cultures, as a result adding up to a challenge to both.

3.1.3 Coping with existential crisis following violent displacement

Temples and places of worship India’s poras serve functions more than that of asserting one’s religiosity in the host country. In her work on the Muthumariamman temple in Bonn in Germany, Ganesh (2014: 239-241) argues that temples built and run by the Tamil refugees from Srilanka diaspora serve the function of catering to the existential crisis triggered by the civil war in Srilanka. Tamil immigrants had experienced violent displacement from their homeland, facing loss of property and death of relatives. All this combined with efforts to survive in a new environment has led to trauma and anxiety which temple centred devotional activities help to cope with, through self healing, espousing outlooks which enabled them to look at deeper meaning in their sorrows. Thus, healing and psychic reintegration are potent needs that temples take care of.

Simultaneously, for the Tamils, the temples also provided a forum for political mobilization of the community for supporting Tamil militancy in Srilanka during the period of civil war. Similarly the role of gurdwaras in mobilizing Sikhs politically during the heyday of the Khalistan movement has been noted.

3.1.4 Philanthropy

Yet another contribution of temples, mosques, and other places of worship is in educational and development activities, while raising funds for the diasporic community and home country (www.indinadiaspora.nic.in Ch.34).

Fatemi Trust of the Dawoodi Bohra welfare society

Swami Narayan Foundation

Agha Khan Foundation

Vedanta Societies

Ramkrishna Mission

Bohra communities living in East African communities

Chinmaya Mission

Americal Foundation for Muslims in India

Sathya Sai Baba Organisation

Sanatan Mandir cultural centre

Guru Ravidas Sabha

Indian Muslim Federation

Dawoodi Bohra community

Nanaksar Satsang Sabha

Zoroastrian organization

Namdhari Sanghat

Amdedkar and Budhdhist organization

Vishwa Hindu Parishad

These organizations and many more, are spread out in various parts of USA, UK, Canada, where the large Indian diasporas exist. They perform various functions like providing relief work, spreading awareness about AIDS, collecting funds for natural disasters.

4. CHARISMATIC SECTS AND NEW AGE MOVEMENTS

Over the last many years, several ‘New Age’ sects built around a central figure or guru and charismatic religious movements have emerged .According to Lewis and Melton (1992) the phrase ‘New Age’ comprises of many beliefs, practices, and movements that are not easily catalogued or typified. Beckford and Levasseur (1986:29) write that the term new age /new religious movements is a wide and an all-encompassing one, instead of being sharply delineated. Human and material assets are used to publicize the ideas, visions and worldviews. This is in a way deviating from society’s traditional forms of doctrines.

The new age movements of the 70’s and the 80’s incorporated aspects of an assortment of eastern and other traditions. Melton (1992:18) articulates that “the new age raised not so much as a new religion, but as a revivalist religious impulse directed toward esoteric/metaphysical/eastern groups and to the mystical strains of all religions.” This “impulse” has laid emphasis on makeover and transformation of the self via various activities, such as healing, body work, astrology, yoga, and so forth. It has also acknowledged social, cultural and political transformation.

New age religious movements like ISKCON, Art of Living, the Chinmaya Mission, transcendental meditation, Sufi Ruhaniat International, Brahma Kumaris, Sathya Sai Organization etc. have gained immense popularity across the globe approximately since the 60’s; when gurus became celebrities and attracted a lot of celebrities and other prominent figures towards them. New religious movements such as mentioned above are spearheaded by their respective charismatic leaders (such as Sri Sri Ravishanker, Sri Satya Sai Baba, Rajneesh, Sachidananda Swami) who have in turn contributed to the establishment of the religious organizations across the globes. Most of these groups, although inspired by Hinduism with inputs from an eclectic range of sources and practices, attract numerous followers from non –

Hindu and non-Indian population, across the globe (especially the West). This shows the bridging of gap between the Indian Diasporic population and western devotees. This has been documented by Thomases (2004) and Glenn (2004).

Although many of these new groups have been developed within and inspired by Hinduism, they are not part of its canonical structure; often drawing followers from diverse political, ethnic and gender identities. Most of these Indian new age religions claim to revive ancient Indian spiritual wisdom, which is packaged accordingly to the contemporary members of these movements. They are a 20th century phenomenon, referring back to Upanishads and Vedas, while calling for personal observances on diet, lifestyle, yoga, etc. They do not function formally on caste basis and attract worshippers from an assortment of various castes and religions.

Most of these movements and organizations, undertake a wide variety of cultural, educational, spiritual and humanitarian activities throughout the world. Sahoo’s (2007) findings show us that the practice of spirituality among the diasporic population, and their participation in spiritual movements of the homeland has aided in the construction and re construction of religious and cultural identities in the Diaspora.

Apart from altering and re-constructing the diaporic populations’ religious and cultural practices, the new age religious movements, just like the orthodox ‘Sanatani’ traditions like Sringeri Sankara Muth also transformed their identities from ‘diasporic’ to ‘transnational’. Many immigrants and diasporas visit their homelands to participate in the spiritual movement and circulate ideas of the spiritual gurus to a wider audience across the globe, via community participation. This aids the process of becoming transnational.

CONCLUSION

Several social scientists have endeavored to define, theorise about the notions of religiosity and spirituality (Zinnbaver et al. 1997). However, there has been little consensus on what the terms actually mean. Over a period of time, nonetheless, ongoing definitions of both the terms have undergone altered. Previously both the terms were not differentiated from each other, until there was an ascendance in secularism and complete cynicism geared towards religious institutions (Turner et al. 1995). Hence, while the terms seem much related, they are also quite distinct. Religiosity is then, broadly defined as acceptance of a set of beliefs as true and observing a set of rituals to justify them. For instance, a person of a Christian faith believes that Jesus is God’s son and observes baptism and practices Holy Communion. A Muslim person believes Allah to be the supreme power, and observes Salat (www.compellingtruth.org). In contrast, spirituality is more ambiguous and inclusive-It has different meanings for different people. For some, it could fall within the purview of partaking in religious practices. For others, it’s more personal and less/not institutional- they understand spirituality as getting in touch with themselves via meditations, quiet prayers, and long walks in the woods, yoga, quiet reflections, psychic communication, etc.

Thus, we can see how religious practices in the diaspora have taken various forms, many of which could be termed as spiritual, and are influenced by the ancient Vedas and texts of various religions and partly influenced by Western new age metaphysics. These enable the diasporic communities to construct and reconstruct their identities, and connect with one another and other devotees from various ethnic backgrounds. This is one of the distinct developments in the religious life of the Indian diaspora.

With regard to the most prominent religion in the Indian diaspora, namely Hinduism, Thomases (2004) and Jasper (2001) highlight the dilemma when it comes to defining it.. On the one hand, Hinduism is characterized by varying sects, gods, scriptures, languages, and practices. On the other, various Hindu scriptures talk about transcending these differences, in a search for oneness. As a product of these multiple trends, when Hindus from India migrate to their respective hostlands, they bring along with them an array of religious beliefs and practices rooted in specific regions and ethnic communities. Thobani (2014) discuss the definitional anxieties of Hindus in articulating their religious identities vis-à-vis other religions in India. She further adds that similar sentiments have been observed amongst Hindus in the Diasporas who envy Sikhs and Muslims for being more centralized in their practices and thus are better able to pass on their traditions to their children. This is one of the major underlying transformations in the religious life of the Indian diaspora.