Hinduism and Religious Freedom: A Sourcebook of Scriptural, Theological, and Legal Texts

Excerpt:

“It is difficult to speak of Hinduism and religious freedom in general terms. Unlike Islam, Christianity, or Judaism, there is no single, central, guiding text in the Hindu tradition. Nor, as in Buddhism, is there a central founding figure. Rather, Hinduism consists of a number of highly diverse and complex texts, practices, and traditions that were refined over many centuries. A further complication is that developments in Hinduism were—and remain—intimately entwined with the social, cultural, and political history of the vast Indian subcontinent. Today the Republic of India is the world’s largest Hindu-majority country and home to 96 percent of the world’s Hindus. There are also large Hindu populations in Nepal and Sri Lanka and a sizable diaspora scattered throughout the world. This produced a fluid and diverse collection of Hindu texts, traditions, and movements in both ancient and modern times, which contained a wide range of messages about religious freedom and religious tolerance. Overall, as the texts compiled in this sourcebook indicate, Hinduism has a long and complex history of engaging the issues and principles at the heart of religious freedom.”

For more information, read Hinduism and Religious Freedom: A Sourcebook of Scriptural, Theological, and Legal Texts.