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Comment by blackoil | Hacker News Reader

Indian religions are interesting topic. It is birthplace of major religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Hinduism the most popular religion is unlike any other. Over time it is constantly modified and evolved. While Christianity and islam grew by replacing previous practices, Hinduism stitched all into one. So it has trees, fire, wind deity as well as abstract gods. Popular schools with different thoughts evolved and merged into a unified stream.

Sadly recent radicalisation have dented its malleability.

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> While Christianity and islam grew by replacing previous practices, Hinduism stitched all into one.

I think to a good extent you can say Catholicism grew by absorbing other religions. It started with Judaism, but then continued to subsume other pagan religions. Christmas itself has pagan roots.

True but for none to that extent. It is difficult to be not Hindu, if you are part of the region no matter what you believe and practice you are Hindu. There are even atheist branches of the religion.

So in European context, think of a religion believing in Norse and Greek gods as well as Christian God simultaneously in a single fabric.

Isn't this conflating Hindu with Indian? Yes, Indian tradition has always been syncretic. But etymology aside, Hindu and Indian do not mean the same in modern usage.

I think some Sikhs might differ with you there.

> Christmas itself has pagan roots.

I was under the impression that the "Calculation hypothesis" (Easter + 9 months) was the most likely:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Calculation_hypothes...

The Biblical story has the shepherds out in the fields with their flocks when an angel heralds the birth of Jesus and there is some debate about whether this would have been the case during the Winter. Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it.

> The Biblical story has the shepherds […]

If you're going for 'historical accuracy', that'd be an argument, but that may not have been much of a consideration 2000 years ago.

> Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it.

Some early mentions around 700 AD, but didn't really become a big thing until the 1500s and Protestantism it seems. That'd be fairly far removed from co-opting Pagan traditions, which were probably not practiced for a few hundred years at that point:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Religious_issue...

Though these are on the secular side of things, as most liturgies don't incorporate them. This was mainly for Europeans, AFAICT.

Not sure how many Christians in tropical countries are doing the tree thing. Though with globalization and mass media, Western practices may be more spreading more places in recent years/decades.

Hinduism is not really a "religion", as the western term implies. From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism#Definitions

Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. According to Doniger, "ideas about all the major issues of faith and lifestyle – vegetarianism, nonviolence, belief in rebirth, even caste – are subjects of debate, not dogma.

> Sadly recent radicalisation have dented its malleability.

Hindutva shouldn't be confused with Hinduism: https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/on-th...

"Hinduism" is more of an umbrella term for hundreds of different religions, practices, and beliefs.

Christianity and Islam also have many, many different sects and varying beliefs, but Hinduism is even more varied.

Indeed. The word Hindu does not occur in native literature, its an exonym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endonym_and_exonym

If I remember correctly earliest recorded use of the word is in Persian/Zoroastrian text. There it's used not as a name of a religion but as a name for people living on the other side of the Indus river (called Sindhu in Sanskrit)

Correct. The right name is 'sanaatana dharma'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San%C4%81tan%C4%AB

Calling it the right name is excessive. The term is of fairly recent origin and motivated by a desire to avoid using a Persian loanword.

Fair enough but Zoroastrianism isn't really an Indian religion.

Don't meant to imply that. Though Zoroastrianism and Vedic Hinduism maybe offshoot of some same proto religion. They have lot of commonalities in them.

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