[edit]

In March 2023, a chirograph of Pope Francis was published, whose goal is "to further
renew the Statute of the Institute for the Works of Religion to make it consistent with the
most modern organizational requirements as well as with the operational needs that arise
daily in the Institute's activities".[100]

Hinduism (/ˈhɪnduˌɪzəm/)[1] is an umbrella term[2][3][a] for a range of Indian religious and

Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared concepts that
discuss theology, mythology, among other topics in textual sources. [6] Hindu texts have
been classified into Śruti (lit. 'heard') and Smṛti (lit. 'remembered'). The major Hindu
scriptures are the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Mahabharata (including
the Bhagavad Gita), the Ramayana, and the Agamas.[7][8] Prominent themes in Hindu
beliefs include the karma (action, intent and consequences), [7][9] the saṃsāra (the cycle of
death and rebirth) and the four Puruṣārthas, proper goals or aims of human life,
namely: dharma (ethics/duties), artha (prosperity/work), kama (desires/passions)
and moksha (liberation/freedom from passions and ultimately saṃsāra). [10][11][12] Hindu
religious practices include devotion (bhakti), worship (puja), sacrificial rites (yajna), and
meditation (dhyana) and yoga.[13] Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many
Hindus do not claim to belong to any denomination. [14] However, scholarly studies notify
four major denominations: Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism, and Vaishnavism. [15][16] The
six Āstika schools of Hindu philosophy that recognise the authority of the Vedas
are: Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedanta. [17][18]

While the traditional Itihasa-Purana and its derived Epic-Puranic chronology present
Hinduism as a tradition existing for thousands of years, scholars regard Hinduism as a
fusion[note 5] or synthesis[note 6] of Brahmanical orthopraxy[note 7] with various Indian cultures,[note
8]
having diverse roots[note 9] and no specific founder.[19] This Hindu synthesis emerged after
the Vedic period, between c. 500[20] to 200[21] BCE, and c. 300 CE,[20] in the period of
the second urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism when the epics and
the first Purānas were composed.[20][21] It flourished in the medieval period, with the decline
of Buddhism in India.[22] Since the 19th century, modern Hinduism, influenced by western
culture, has acquired a great appeal in the West, most notably reflected in the
popularisation of yoga and various sects such as Transcendental Meditation and
the Hare Krishna movement.

Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with approximately 1.20 billion followers, or
around 15% of the global population, known as Hindus.[web 2][web 3] It is the most widely
professed faith in India,[23] Nepal, Mauritius, and in Bali, Indonesia.[24] Significant numbers
of Hindu communities are found in the countries of South Asia, in Southeast Asia, in
the Caribbean, Middle East, North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, and other
regions. [25][26][27]

Etymology
Further information: Hindu
The word Hindū is an exonym,[28] derived from Sanskrit Sindhu,[29] the name of the Indus
River as well as the country of the lower Indus basin (Sindh). [30][31][note 10] The Proto-
Iranian sound change *s > h occurred between 850 and 600 BCE. [33] "Hindu" occurs
in Avesta as heptahindu, equivalent to Rigvedic sapta sindhu. [34] The 6th-century BCE
inscription of Darius I mentions Hindush (referring to Sindh) among his
provinces.[35][36] Hindustan (spelt "hndstn") is found in a Sasanian inscription from the 3rd
century CE.[34] The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term and did not
refer to a religion.[37] In Arabic texts, "Hind", a derivative of Persian "Hindu", was used to
refer to the land beyond the Indus[38] and therefore, all the people in that land were
"Hindus", according to historian Romila Thapar.[39] By the 13th
century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name of India. [40]

Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the
7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang. [35] In the 14th
century, 'Hindu' appeared in several texts in Persian, Sanskrit and Prakrit within India,
and subsequently in vernacular languages, often in comparative contexts to contrast them
with Muslims or "Turks". Examples include the 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-
salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami,[note 2] Jain texts such as Vividha Tirtha
Kalpa and Vidyatilaka, circa 1400 Apabhramsa text Kīrttilatā by Vidyapati, 16–18th
[41] [42]

century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts,[43] etc. These native usages of "Hindu" were
borrowed from Persian, and they did not always have a religious connotation, but they
often did.[44] In Indian texts, Hindu dharma ("Hindu religion") was often used to refer to
Hinduism.[43][45]

Starting in the 17th century, European merchants and colonists adopted "Hindu" (often
with the English spelling "Hindoo") to refer to residents of India as a religious
community.[46][note 11] The term got increasingly associated with the practices of Brahmins,
who were also referred to as "Gentiles" and "Gentoos". [46] Terms such as "Hindoo faith"
and "Hindoo religion" were often used, eventually leading to the appearance of
"Hindooism" in a letter of Charles Grant in 1787, who used it along with "Hindu
religion".[50] The first Indian to use "Hinduism" may have been Raja Ram Mohan Roy in
1816–17.[51] By the 1840s, the term "Hinduism" was used by those Indians who opposed
British colonialism, and who wanted to distinguish themselves from Muslims and
Christians.[52] Before the British began to categorise communities strictly by religion,
Indians generally did not define themselves exclusively through their religious beliefs;
instead identities were largely segmented on the basis of locality, language, varna, jāti,
occupation, and sect.[53][note 12]