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How do the Hindu beliefs, practices, and teachings based on the original Vedic texts relate to what Hindus today believe and practice? Indeed, these are then Hindus that mental health professionals and clergy around the world are likely to counsel. Presented here are data from three cross-national and national surveys involving large random samples of adults that include an assessment of Hindu religious affiliation, religious beliefs, and practices: the International Social Survey Program-III (ISSP, 2008), World Values Survey (WVS 2005-2006), and the Global Attitudes Project (GAP, 2009) (Tables 1-3) (Koenig, 2017, unpublished report).
Belief in God
The International Social survey Program-III (ISSP, 2008) asked a random sample of almost 60,000 adults from 40 countries about their religious beliefs and practices of (Table 1). The sample included 203 Hindus from various countries (India was not included in this survey). Surprisingly, Hindus (70% from South Africa) were significantly more likely that members of other religious groups (89% Christian) to say that “I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it” (73.1% vs. 50.4%, p<0.0001). Almost all Hindus in this sample said that “I believe in God now and I always have,” again a higher percentage than other religious groups (93.0% vs. 78.4%, p<0.0001). Furthermore, Hindus were more likely to say that “There is a God who concerns Himself with every human being personally” compared to non-Hindus (84.1% vs. 56.1%, p<0.0001), more likely to say that “life is meaningful only because God exists” (55.1% vs. 38.9%, p<0.0001), and more likely to agree to the statement “I have my own way of connecting with God without churches or religious services” (84.4% vs. 56.1%, p<0.0001).
Other cross-national random surveys of Hindus (particularly those that have included Hindus from India) have reported similar results, though not as striking. The 2005-2006 World Values Survey (WVS) examined a random sample of over 80,000 adults from more than 80 countries, including 1,962 Hindus primarily from India (77%) and Trinidad/Tobago (12%) (Table 2). When asked to rate “How important is God in your life” on a 1 to 10 scale (1=not at all important, 10=very important), Hindus on average scored only slightly lower (7.9 vs. 8.5) than members of other religious groups (61% of whom were Christian). Overall, then, belief in God and importance of God in life is surprisingly similar in Hindus compared to members of other religious groups around the world (including Muslims and Christians), although this is perhaps slightly less so in India.
Religiosity in General
Many Hindus indicate that religion is very important to them. The 2008 ISSP survey of 203 Hindus described above found that 41.0% of the sample indicated they were very or extremely religious compared to 20.5% of members of other religious groups. In the 2009 Global Attitudes Project (GAP), which included a random sample of 5,769 adults from India, Great Britain, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Canada (1,856 of whom were Hindus, 97% from India), participants were asked about the importance of religion in their lives. Hindus were somewhat less likely than persons from other religious groups to say that religion was “very important” to them (73.9% vs. 79.4%, p<0.001) (Table 3). However, Hindus were more likely to engage in religious practices compared to non-Hindus. In this sample, non-Hindus were primarily Muslims (70.0%) and Christians (24.5%). Finally, in the 2005-2006 WVS (Table 2), which also included Hindus primarily from India, there was no differences in the proportion of Hindus indicating that religion was “very important” in life compared to non-Hindus (57.4% vs 57.1%); likewise, 80.2% of Hindus described themselves as a “religious person” compared to 79.9% of non-Hindus. Similarly, Hindus were just as likely as non-Hindus to believe that children should have religious faith instilled in them at home (45.2% vs. 47.9% of non-Hindus). Therefore, there appears to be little difference between Hindus and members of other religious groups with regard to self-rated importance of religion in life, and in places like South Africa, Hindus are considerably more likely to report that religion is important to them than are non-Hindus.
Other Religious Beliefs
As noted above, core beliefs in Hinduism involve dharma (world-preserving action, based on moral and religious laws), moksha (non-attachment to, release and withdrawal from the material world), and karma (the effect of one’s actions on present and future lives). They also included beliefs about the reincarnation of souls, the world of ancestors and gods, the Supreme God whom Hindus call Brahman, and about the need to respect all religions. As noted above, many Hindus believe in God, including a personal God. What about other core Hindu beliefs? Unfortunately, national random surveys that include large numbers of Hindus and that ask about the details of religious belief are not readily available. However, the 2008 ISSP provides important details on Hindu beliefs in a relatively small sample of Hindus (n=203), largely those from South Africa (Table 1).
In that survey, 73.4% of Hindus said they believe in life after death (vs. 66.0% of non-Hindus); 76.4% believe in heaven (vs. 68.4% of non-Hindus); 60.0% believe in hell (vs. 54.9% of non-Hindus); 79.7% believe in religious miracles (vs. 64.9% of non-Hindus); 72.9% believe in reincarnation (vs. 36.6% of non-Hindus); 68.2% believe in Nirvana (vs. 23.8% of non-Hindus); and 63.3% believe in the supernatural power of ancestors (vs. 34.4% of non-Hindus). Furthermore, 63.1% of Hindus believe in respect for all religions (vs. 36.2% of non-Hindus, p<0.0001), and 79.1% have positive attitudes toward Christians (vs. 73.5% of non-Hindus), 74.4% toward Muslims (vs. 35.4% of non-Hindus), 77.5% toward Buddhists (vs. 39.2% of non-Hindus), 72.9% of Jews (vs. 36.1% of non-Hindus), and even 53.9% have positive attitudes towards atheists (vs 29.9% of non-Hindus). Thus, at least among Hindus in South Africa, Great Britain, and countries outside of India, Hindus tend to be a religious people who believe in God and many core Hindu beliefs such as life after death, heaven and hell, reincarnation, Nirvana, miracles, and respect for all religions (including respect for those without religious belief), often more so than members of other religious groups.
Religious Practices
To what degree are Hindus involved in religious practices? As noted above, common religious practices include worshipping, praying, and conducting rituals and making offerings at Hindu temples in the community or at shrines in their homes, going on pilgrimages, and meditating. The 2008 ISSP found that Hindus attend religious services to a similar degree as non-Hindus (22.9% weekly or more often, vs. 25.5% for non-Hindus). In the 2009 GAP survey (97% of Hindus from India), they were slightly more likely than non-Hindus to attend religious services (34.5% weekly or more often vs. 33.5% for non-Hindus). Results were similar in the 2005-2005 WVS (the vast majority of Hindus being from India), where 42.6% reported they attended religious services weekly or more frequently (vs. 41.3% of non-Hindus).
Two out of three surveys found that prayer was more common among Hindus than in members of other religious groups. In the 2008 ISSP, 64.9% of Hindus prayed daily or several times per day (vs. 29.2% of non-Hindus). In the 2009 GAP survey, 81.5% of Hindus (primarily from India) said they prayed daily or several times per day (vs. 46.3% of non-Hindus). Only in the 2005-2006 WVS were “moments of prayer or meditation” similar in Hindus compared to non-Hindus (82.5% vs. 82.4%). The ISSP also found that Hindus were more likely to have a religious shrine, altar, or icon in their homes (88.7% vs. 53.9% of non-Hindus), and more likely to go on pilgrimage, i.e., visit religious holy places other than temples for religious services (64.9% vs. 38.6% of non-Hindus). Thus, Hindus are often engaged in religious practices of their faith, sometimes more than are members of other religious faiths.
Table 1. Comparisons of beliefs, attitudes and practices between Hindus, other religious groups, and the non-affiliated (International Social Survey Program 2008).
(Editor: Detailed contents of this table has been omitted. Please contact the Editor if you require the details.)
Table 2. Comparison of beliefs, attitudes, and practices, mental health, and demographics between Hindus, members of other religious groups and the non-affiliated (World Values Survey 2005-2006).
(Editor: Detailed contents of this table has been omitted. Please contact the Editor if you require the details.)
Table 3. Comparison of beliefs and practices of Hindus with other religions and the non-affiliated (Global Attitudes Project 2009).
(Editor: Detailed contents of this table has been omitted. Please contact the Editor if you require the details.)
Conclusions
Hindus today have a number of distinct beliefs and practices that differentiate them from members of other religious groups. Beliefs and practices of Hindus vary to some extent depending on where in the world they live (i.e., Great Britain or South Africa vs. India). Hindus often believe in God (including belief in a personal God with whom they may relate) and religion is very important to most Hindus, sometimes more important than for members of other religious faiths. Religious practices (such as prayer, attending religious services, and having a shrine/altar/icon in their home) are also very common among Hindus. Devout religious beliefs and practices of Hindus, then, may impact their mental health in various ways, which is the subject of the next several chapters.