Cultural Differences In India's Multiple Religions

Improved Essays
India is a diverse country when it comes to religion. Some of the multiple religions that hold a larger number of followers are Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism; these four all became popular at the same time in India’s history. There are also multiple religions that are practiced within tribes and have managed to survive the major religious influence. Because of the amount and diversity of religions within India it makes it a very special melting pot (Religion, 2011 para. 1). The percentage of Hindu’s in India is staggering; this faith has about 80.5 percent of the population following it in 27 states across India. There is about 13.4 percent are Muslims or follow Islamic faith. Five states within India hold the largest population of …show more content…
Common greetings in India include placing the palms together in front of their chest and giving a slight bow of the head. American employees would not know how to react to this type of greeting. To receive this greeting and not return it it could be taken offensively by the Indian employee. Also men will shake hands with other men, but they never shake hands with a woman, and women should never initiate a handshake. To have a woman initiate a handshake would be offensive in their culture (Dr. Baldwin, n.d.). Special care needs to be taken in situations of greeting, whether it is a male or a female, understanding what is normal for both and what is offensive would help both groups. Many Indians do not like to say the word ‘no’ or even imply it. They will most times offer a response that they think you want to hear or will be vague deliberately. American’s would see this interaction as being dishonest or untrustworthy. With Asian Indians you have to learn to read body language, excitement or a reluctance to commit (India Guide, n.d.). This can be hard for an American employee to get used to or

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Rel101 Unit 2 Religions

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    REL101 Wiki Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism What is Buddhism? - Is a religion based on insight and inner peace [https://thebuddhistcentre.com/Buddhism] - ‘Buddhism’ comes from the word ‘budhi’ which means ‘to awaken’. [http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm] - The religion was originated from Siddhartha Gotama, who is known as Buddha [http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm] - Buddhism does not concern itself with any God or deity, therefore to most it is not considered a religion rather a way of life or philosophy.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Religious Beliefs The Northeast Indians had very many religious beliefs that seem a bit perplexing nowadays. One major belief is something called Animism. Animism is where they believed that everything had a spirit or soul. To model this, the exhibit shows the people talking to the spirits at the community building in the village. Another belief is that wearing face paint keeps evil spirits away.…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    St. Augustine argued in the fifth century that religious persecution was not only moral, but also a Christian duty. Over time, people somewhat learned to articulate misgivings about St. Augustine’s claim. Michel de Montaigne responded by noting no absolute evidence for one religion or another exists and that people cannot torture others without presenting evidence of a misdeed. If one could not prove his or her own religion, one could not hold following another religion as criminal.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Amirah Ahmad February 12, 2017 POS-2150 POS 2150- STUDY QUESTIONS for CHAPTER 4- INDIA 1. According to the text, why is India a study in contrasts?…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Early Postclassical Era (Religion) Identifies many well-known religions that are still in place today, like Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. These major religion, had influenced millions of individuals all over the globe. This piece of writing will give viable information’s about how and where some of these major religions started, and the geographic that they influenced. The Expansive Realm of Islam, Islam had a prophet named Mohammad who helped start the religion Islam, Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 C.E. in his later years he did find himself a lady named Khadija who was a widow and came from a wealthy background. Muhammad lived from 570-632 C.E. In 622 C.E.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Introduction In a world where everything is changing, remain who we are. Don't let the world change you, change the world by being who you are and holding on to your identity. Hindu Indians are known for staying true to oneself and their culture because they have a clear sense of their cultural identity. Their cultural identity relates to their heritage and their belief structure on why they think and believe what they do.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As different religions throughout diverse cultures and various countries were explored, the majority if not all shared a common way of experiencing the divine. Religions are formed through sensual engagement or stimulation to the five senses and is evident throughout every religious group whether primitive or “modern”. The ability to see, feel, touch, taste, and smell allows for the participant to feel something whether it be stimulation to just one sense or a combination of senses. These experiences help cultivate the belief of a religion by providing something that although may be intangible the partaker can experience in the form of a vision, dream, or even feeling the presence of something supernatural. There is evidence of this in Christianity, Hinduism, Native American religion and the other religions.…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the documentary World Before Her, the stark contrasts of modern and traditional India are shown through the eyes of young women. One world shows the lengthy, painful, and often vain process that leads to being a contestant in the Miss India pageant, the other shows the strict and disciplined life of a member of the Durga Vahini, Indian nationalist women’s camp. Both sides of India, traditional and modern, face different issues revolving around the role of women in society but in very different ways. Traditional Indian values note that women’s roles are still apparent, however women are not societal leaders. In one scene, one of the leaders of the Durga Vahini camp is preaching to the young girls in the camp declaring that women should be…

    • 1059 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    North America is a low context culture. Direct communication is to be expected, which is why many Americans always get so confused about the indirect Indian head wobble when they first lived in American soil. Direct eye contact is especially important, if you do not have eye contact with another person in a social or business setting it is seen as showing disrespect. When greeting someone, a firm handshake and direct eye contact is the correct way to greet someone. Unlike the Indian’s acceptance of silence, American’s perceive a gap in conversation uncomfortable or awkward.…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Caste system has been through a lot of transformations, based on many beliefs and disbeliefs. As it possibly, “… has been through extinction for over one hundred years.” and then has been rebuilt- once it has been “...declared moribund.” (Jonah Blank, 114) There are many conceptions on what possibly changed, or remained the same.…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ancient India Religion

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In this essay I will describe the various factors which influenced the religions of India, Egypt and Rome. These factors include social, political, economic and geographical influences on the development of religion. Social, political, economic and geographical influences played a large part in the religions of India during the Vedic Age, the Old and New Kingdoms in Egypt and the Mayans. The Vedic Age in India took place approximately from 1500-500 BCE.…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the world today, we see so many events happening that sometimes we do not know why they occur. In the western side of the world we see people living in more developed countries such as the United States and Europe. As in the eastern side there are countries that are a lower developed countries for example South west Asia and south Asia. To have a comparison between two countries that I will be explaining about are Europe and South West Asia. Those two regions have a lot of differences in their physical geography, how many people live in the region, what type of culture background they have, their differences in geopolitics, and especially where their development rank in the world.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Between the era of 600 BCE and 600 CE, as religious diffusion took place across the globe, India experienced many changes such as the rise of buddhism, and the threat of it’s people adopting a new religion, while hinduism continuously remained as the predominant religion of the area. The rise of Buddhism in India served as a change in the religious demographic of India. Buddhism was developed unintentionally in India by the prince Siddhartha Gautama. The story is told that the Buddha (Prince Gautama,) was born a prince in a lavish palace who led a lavish lifestyle. One day he ventured into the world where for the first time in his life he witnessed sorrow and poverty.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Indian Salvation Religion(s) And Mediterranean Metaphysical Philosophy During the classical Era, the belief system an individual belonged to determine the way they behaved, acted, and they hope they had. A comparison and contrast of some written documents provide an understanding of the similarities and differences between Indian salvation religions and Mediterranean metaphysical philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita, an analysis on how individuals can function in this world and become one with Brahman at the same time, and Narada, The Bhakti Sutra, a source on what devotion consist of are documents that reveal the important aspects of Hinduism as a popular religion. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, a written dialogue on the effects of education on…

    • 1581 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hinduism Essay

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hinduism is most likely the oldest and most complex religion in the entire world. Traces of the religion go back as far as the third millennium B.C.E. The possible religious views of Hinduism are effectively infinite due to the number of gods both major and minor, priests and temples. Nearly 80 percent of the India population consider themselves Hindu and there are at least 30 million practitioners outside of India making this religion the third largest after Christianity and Islam. The word “Hinduism” is a collection of various traditions that are closely related and share common themes yet they do not constitute an integrated set of beliefs or practices.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays