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RR 2005/391 Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice Edited by Robin Rinehart ABC-Clio Santa Barbara, CA and Oxford 2004 xiii + 448 pp. ISBN 1 57607 905 8 £57.95, $90 Also available as an e-book (ISBN 1 57607 906 6) Distributed in the UK and Europe by Eurospan
Keywords Religion, Culture
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120510632426
Hinduism is one of the largest world religions after Christianity and Islam. In 2001 there were some 800 million Hindus. Most of them live in the Indian sub-continent, but Hinduism is a truly world religion. Interest in Hindu beliefs and practices is long-standing, early on (under imperialism) as a matter of orientalist curiosity or evidence of polytheistic naivety, and more recently as a source of mysticism and New Age "alternative" religion. This new work from ABC-Clio is geared for modern newcomers to Hinduism, English-language-based, most likely in schools and colleges in the West. It picks up on the way in which others perceive Hinduism rather than concentrating exclusively on the how and why of Hindu practices and beliefs. This makes the work suitable for the school and college library, especially where world faiths are studied not just for their doctrinal and scriptural content, similarity and difference, but also for how they are practised in everyday life. The book is a useful introduction to "what Hinduism is" and "where it is coming from".
Robin Rinehart is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Lafayette College...