REL-1300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Industrial Revolution, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Satyagraha
Document Summary
Western perceptions of hinduism (american perceptions) have changed over time. Hindu practice changed simultaneously and theres a codependence here. Give and take between western culture and indian hinduism in the us. Evolution of these two streams by trial and error that has led to criticism and more people paying attention to hinduism (we"re all in this together; it"s a moving process) Key to this is that what real religion is is communicated in books (the bible) The burning of high caste widows when their husband dies. Protestants wanted to cut through materialism and ideology and get to texts/ideas. Some of the first american anthropological study is done on hindu women to help them but not really destroy their religion. Increasing curiosity on how hinduism works and different parts of it. Impact on missionary understanding about christianity: made them focus more on understanding hinduism rather than destroy it.
