Premium
Digital religion and Hinduism in the United States
Author(s) -
Pandharipande Rajeshwari V.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/weng.12338
Subject(s) - hinduism , worship , diaspora , context (archaeology) , sociology , media studies , religious studies , anthropology , history , gender studies , political science , law , philosophy , archaeology
Abstract As religions migrate from their native contexts, they adopt new languages for their communication. Additionally, in the 21st century, digital media is being used for religious practices such as ritual worship, sermons and discourses. This article focuses on the case of Hinduism in the US diaspora where the Hindu community (unlike its native counterpart in India) uses the English language and the digital media for the Hindu religious practices. In particular, this article discusses the ways in which the use of the English language and digital media is more conventionalized in the context of discussion about religion (in the discourses of satsang) , as opposed to the experience of religion (for example, in puja ‘ worship ritual’).