Hmm, this is a complicated question.
The vast majority of “folk Hindus”, living in villages, are polytheists, and often henotheists who believe in a local deity who has power over “their” town or village. This can sometimes turn very ugly, and cases of child sacrifice / child marriage / ritual prostitution are not unknown, though they are rarer than they used to be. That is paganism, though the PC brigade won’t like me saying so.
The second category is upper-caste Hindus who have a complex and detailed cosmology and theology. In effect, they are monotheists, but their monotheism is very different from that of the Abrahamic religions. They are often sympathetic but condescending to “folk Hinduism”, and view their own belief systems as being more highly evolved (which they are) and truer (which is also true in a relative, not absolute, sense.)
The third category, emerging these days, is popular among young and middle-aged, middle- and upper-class individuals, and can be charitably termed “New Age Hinduism.” These people reject the more obvious forms of temple worship and ritual, shun superstition in public (but often embrace it in private), but are into Yoga, New Age techniques (reiki, pranic healing, crystals, aromas, etc…
), and the like. They believe in “God” in an impersonal sense, and often describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious”. Most popular “gurus” and “yoga teachers” cater to this audience. In fairness, a lot of poorly catechized Christians, including Catholics, can also be put into this category.
So, I voted for 1, but only because that’s the majority position. If you were to speak to the educated, upper-class Hindus who are my friends and colleagues, most of them would fall into (2) or (3), but can revert to (1) in times of need.
Again, this is just one man’s observation. I’m not an authority.
