# I still self-identify as Hindu
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 8, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039 "2005-02-08T18:35:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/1 "2005-02-08T18:35:33Z")
In [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301266) thread, \*\*WhyNot \*\* asks me a valid question: why have a traditional wedding if I’m not Hindu? I have actually been thinking about this for some time now, and I thought it deserved more of an answer.
What I don’t believe in is a god. But I still believe in Hinduism. Hinduism is less of a religion and more of a way of life, like Buddhism. I believe in the tenets of \*karma \* and _dharma_. I believe that everyone is human, no matter which God you worship or even if you don’t worship at all. I believe in the sayings of the **Gita** , the **Ramayan** , and the **Mahabharat** , which all contain current and vital knowledge, IMO. I just don’t think they are divinely inspired. I don’t think anything is divinely inspired.
Perhaps this should have been in a different forum, but I just wanted to make this point.
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/2 "2005-02-08T18:36:37Z")
:smack: It was **wisernow** , which I am.
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### Author:  [@wisernow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wisernow)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/3 "2005-02-08T19:19:18Z")
I completely agree with you. I am sorry if you misunderstood my question, but I thought that perhaps you had formally adopted another religion like Christianity/Islam whatever.
You are absolutely correct in saying that Hinduism is more a way of life and is not a religion at all. I guess most are already aware of it, that the word Hindu actually owes its origin in Greek and was the name given by them in the time of Alexander the Great, to the people living across the river Sindhu(later called Indus). The ‘S’ was pronounced as a ‘H’ and that led to the coinage of the word Hindu.
Another reason why it cannot be considered a religion in the true sense is that there does not exist any document or scripture that lays down conditions that qualify you as a Hindu. You need not believe in God! You need not have ever gone to a temple or a place of worship! You need not have prayed ever! You need not have read the Vedas or the Geeta or any of the scriptures! Despite everything, you still remain a Hindu as long as you live righteously.
Congratulations anyway **Anamika**
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/4 "2005-02-08T20:15:04Z")
Thanks for reading this, wisernow. I appreciate it. And thanks for understanding! 🙂
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/5 "2005-02-08T20:40:22Z")
This really got me thinking.
I no longer self-identify as Hindu. I think of myself as a deist. Still, the God(s) I don’t believe in but accept the possible existence of are isn’t the Judeo-Christian one (which I’ve been far more exposed to during the second half of my life) but the Hindu pantheon- the tripartite Brahm/Shiva/Vishnu, specifically.
Odd, that.
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### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/6 "2005-02-08T21:20:29Z")
I know exactly what you mean. I still self-identify as a Byzantine Catholic although it has been 25 years since I stopped believing in G/god/s.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/7 "2005-02-08T21:31:15Z")
I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’m a Unitarian Universalist, which is a religion, even though it’s missing most of the things that **wisernow** lays out. Trying to explain this to people can be frustrating at times.
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### Author:  [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/8 "2005-02-08T21:40:30Z")
Don’t beat yourself up about it…I’ve begun to think that Culturally Catholic Atheists like myself outnumber the faithful by about 2 to 1.
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### Author:  [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-still-self-identify-as-hindu/289039/9 "2005-02-08T22:20:43Z")
All I could think about reading the OP is my aunt. Who formally converted to Judaism when she married my…err…other aunt. That is, as she became, when they got married (they read the Song of Songs to each other).
Neither one of them believes in god. At least, they neither have a formal theology. And pretty obviously they are not exactly traditional. But Aunt Andrea is definately very Jewish. It’s just always been part of her life. And so, when they got married, my Aunt took Hebrew lessons and converted…so they could be buried in the same cemetary.
I think the fact that a “religion” is not just a theology but a whole set of cultural and philosophical ideas and traditions (and that that is a valid way of looking at it) is a very good point to make.