Any Ex-Hindus Other Than Me?

[genkaus]

I've seen tons of ex-Christians and Muslims on the forums, but I haven't met any ex-Hindus yet. I wonder if it's just because of the relative number of believers, or if it has something to do with the religion itself.

So anyway, if there are any of you, what's your story? I especially want to know how you guys told your parents, friends, and the priests at your temples. I'm trying to figure out how to break the news and get people to take me seriously, and I'd love to know a way that someone else managed it successfully.

Hey there - fellow ex-Hindu here.

Being a Hindu is commonly regarded as both a cultural and religious identity by most Indians and there seem to be few definitive rules regarding what is required - belief-wise - in order to be regarded as a Hindu.

My conversion out of Hinduism was pretty gradual - my parents were never very religious, but my aunts and grandmothers are and as a child I did listen to them and believed them when they taught me all the myths and legends of Hinduism. Over the course of my education, I realized how little sense they made and resorted to the common religious evasion of considering them "metaphorically true". By the time I was in college, I simply kept the label of being a Hindu and discarded everything else. By the time I was self-aware enough to discard that meaningless label, my actions and thoughts (about which I had often been honest about with my family) had eroded any expectations they might have had for me being a "traditional" Hindu.

It was at this point that I "came out" to my family. I think my mother is an atheist - though she has never taken a definite position on the subject. She considers the question of god and ritual and prayer to be irrelevant to problems of real life and she shuts me down whenever I bring it up to avoid having a pointless discussion. She is a realist who'd rather I concern myself with matters related to my career and health and education rather than empty intellectual debates. My father believes nominally, but he regards most of the religious rules as nonsensical and gladly contravenes them. Beyond that he hasn't bothered to consolidate his religious views. My sister is an atheist herself and shares my philosophical outlook. So, coming out to my immediate family was a piece of cake.

Coming out to my more religious aunts and grandmothers is still an ongoing process. I've told them that I do not accept their religious or moral beliefs, that I attach no value to tradition and that I love eating beef and other assorted animals - in reply, they simply nod and shrug disapprovingly. Mostly, I get the feeling that while they disapprove, they'd rather believe that I'm simply rebelling and would rather not get into a debate. As long as they don't try to force me to participate in poojas and festivals, I'm fine with it.

I've never really engaged with any priests. The only times I met any were when my family would drag me to the religious functions as a kid where I went through the motions, half-asleep, waiting for the droning to end so that I could go play with other kids similarly dragged there.

I choose my friends sparingly and none of them is particularly religious. I never had to explicitly state my position to them - I simply avoided any and all indications of being religious. I'd order whatever I wanted to eat at restaurants, I opposed being a party to traditional family model and I avoided there attempts to drag me to temples or religious festivities as recreational outings. But given that religion is irrelevant to my friendships, it doesn't seem to bother them at all.

So, what's your story?

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I don't know if they are others former Hindus there. I think that you're the one Hindu because of linguistical barrier (one of official of India is English but how many Indians speak this language ?). Also , in my knowledge the majority of Indians work a lot compared to Westerners. Many Indians live in zones in which there are few Internet access.

Am I right on these points ?

There are many other reasons other than those. Typically, I'd say that sections where (or to whom) internet access is unavailable are the ones which are poor and relatively uneducated - so I wouldn't expect to find many former Hindus there. Other than that:

1. Due to cultural differences, the issues faced by atheists in the West are radically different to those faced by atheists here.

2. Most Indians are more concerned with matters of their day-to-day life and engaging in these forums as an intellectual and recreational activity is rare.

3. Given the loose definition of the term Hinduism and the absence of any authoritative institution, a lot of people have the license to believe whatever they want and keep calling themselves "Hindu".

4. Hinduism being a non-proselytizing religion means that most of the Hindus don't care about your belief system - or if you even have one. Hell, most of the Hindus I've met don't care what they believe.