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In this chapter, I show how religion has shaped patterns of out-migration from India by determining societal structures such as the social location of groups within society, which in turn influences the fundamental characteristics of groups and gives rise to differential state policies toward them. Religion has also played a central role in the community formation of Indian immigrants, not just through faith and religious institutions but through the intersection of the religiously infused identities and concepts of secularism of the United States and of India which profoundly impact the political incorporation of Indian Americans and their mobilization patterns. Majority/minority religious status in the United States mould racial attitudes and self-identification in different ways, while majority/minority religious status in India affects activism profiles around homeland issues.

In sharp contrast to the heterosexist views of some people in Western society, the majority of other cultures that have been studied by anthropologists condone at least some forms of same sex eroticism as socially acceptable behavior. Married couples in particular turn to them since, as “half men/half women,” they can see things from the perspective of both sexes. In contrast to Western sexist views, where a male who acts like a woman is considered to be “lowering himself” to the subordinate female status, in the egalitarian American Indian religions feminine roles are accorded equal respect with men’s roles. In most Western cultures, such people are often considered misfits, an embarrassment to the family. They often leave the family in shame or are thrown out by homophobic relatives, the family thereby losing the benefit of their productive labor. Psychological theory suggests that if a family does not love and support such children, they will quickly internalize a negative self-image.

This chapter offers a broad overview of the three key terms used as: Tantra, Sakta and puja. It discusses the representation and ritual of the goddess Tripurasundari. Online religion represented how the fluid and flexible nature of the Internet allowed new forms of religiosity and lived religious practice online. The term Tantra stands for many different elements of Indian religions and Indian religiosity. Tantra is a living tradition, and most Tantric adepts and practitioners continue to vigilantly guard the secrets of the tradition. In addition to the smarta bowdlerization of Tantra, the shifting tides of modern India and the British colonial moral sensibility contributed to push the fierce forms of Tantric rituals and practices into a cloaked existence. With regards to Hindu Sakta Tantra, the Kamakhya temple and online pujas, a veil exists at the social, cultural and subconscious levels.

Notes on the contributors Preface - Rajaram Hegde Acknowledgements Introduction: Rethinking Religion in India - Marianne Keppens and Esther Bloch Part I: Historical and Empirical Arguments 1. Hindus and Others - David N. Lorenzen 2. Hindu Religious Identity with Special Reference to the Origin and Significance of the Term 'Hinduism', c. 1787-1947 - Geoffrey A. Oddie 3. Representing Religion in Colonial India - John Zavos 4. Colonialism and Religion - Sharada Sugirtharajah 5. Women, the Freedom Movement, and Sanskrit: Notes on Religion and Colonialism from the Ethnographic Present - Laurie L. Patton Part II: Theoretical Reflections 6. Colonialism, Hinduism and the Discourse of Religion - Richard King 7. Who Invented Hinduism? Rethinking Religion in India - Timothy Fitzgerald 8. Orientalism, Postcolonialism and the 'Construction' of Religion - S.N. Balagangadhara 9. The Colonial Construction of What? - Jakob De Roover and Sarah Claerhout

The United States Census Bureau estimates that as of 2007 there were approximately 4.5 million people in the United States who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native (alone or in combination with other races), amounting to 1.5 percent of the total population (US Census Bureau 2008). This estimate is projected to go up to 8.6 million within the next 40 years and partially reflects the increasing numbers of people who identify themselves as American Indian (Passell 1996: 79-102). The definition of “Indian” is complex. Many people, including the American Indians themselves, use the terms American Indian and Native American interchangeably, thus the terms are used interchangeably in this chapter. However, the preferred term seems to be American Indian, with some desiring to be referred to according to the tribal group to which they belong (Bureau of Labor Statistics 1995). There are 562 federally recognized tribes and nations in the Unites States, with ten main American Indian tribal groups and four main Alaska Native groups (Indian Affairs 2008). The main American Indian tribal groups are: Apache, Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Iroquois, Lumbee, Navaho, Pueblo, and Sioux. The main Alaska Native tribal groups are: Alaska Athabascan, Aleut, Eskimo and Tlingit-Haida (US Census Bureau 2000). These tribes speak over 200 indigenous languages. This only begins to illustrate the diversity within the American Indian and Alaska Native groups. Thus, it is impossible to avoid generalizations that gloss over tribal differences. However, in general, a broader overview is important for basic knowledge. Further complicating this is that not everyone who identifies as American Indian is actually counted as Indian. General guidelines have been developed to determine eligibility for health services. By some guidelines an Indian is a person who has two qualifications: (a) ancestors living in America before its discovery, and (b) being recognized as Indian by his or her tribe or community (Cohen 1982). Using this protocol, my father would not be considered Indian, even though both parents are from Indian descent. He is not currently recognized as Indian by his tribe, simply because he has not initiated that recognition; however, he identifies himself as American Indian. Two surveys shed light on Native American Religion: the National Survey of Religious Identification conducted in 1990, and the American Religious Identity Survey conducted in 2001. Both suggest that Native American Religion is among the top 20 (twelfth out of 20) religions in the United States, with a 119 percent increase between 1990 and 2000, and representing 0.05 percent of the United States population in 2000. Demographics within Native American Religion are more complex. First, many Native Americans do not regard their spiritual beliefs as religion. There is no word for religion in the Native languages. Their religion is a way of life that integrates all aspects of life into a whole, and it is understood entirelywithin the context of the spiritual and the sacred. Thus, Native American religion and spirituality is entirely cultural. One does not “convert” to this religion any more than one “converts” to being Native American. Second, due to a history of long term contact with missions and Christian influences, many Native Americans are Christian while also holding onto traditional tribal beliefs.