If a person converts to Hinduism

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…how would they know which caste to put him/ her in?

Any Hindus on the forums who can help?
 
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Is the caste system an actual part of Hinduism itself? I thought it was just a cultural practice in India, where it kind of overlaps with Hinduism because most Indians are Hindus.

Anyway, after asking my Hindu family, the sense I get is that the caste thing isn’t as big a deal in modern India, and it’s kind of vague anyway. Informally, it would probably be based on the persons education and social status. A doctor who converts to Hinduism would informally be a “higher caste” than a laborer.
 
Aren’t the Brahmins the apex of the Hindu caste pyramid? I believe the caste system is rooted in Hinduism, and its concepts of dharma and reincarnation.
 
Going off on a tangent, I understand one of the roadblocks to evangelization in India is the perception that most converts to Christianity are Dalits, or members of the “untouchable” caste. This belief is so prevelant that many Hindus in India automatically assume Christians are Dalits and will treat them accordingly.

(FWIW, the caste system was legally abolished in India in 1950, but it’s still a driving social force in many rural areas. [Report on Caste Discrimination, Human Rights Watch, 2001])
 
I just read an article about a Dalit who married a Rajput and how they’d had to spend the last three years on the run in India, it got me athinking and led to the question I posed here.
 
Salibi said:
Aren’t the Brahmins the apex of the Hindu caste pyramid? I believe the caste system is rooted in Hinduism, and its concepts of dharma and reincarnation.
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I believe so, but the impression I get is that in India today, at least in the larger cities, is that the divisions are no longer as clear cut as they once were.
 
Traditionally, priests or teaching positions etc would be given to those of the Brahmin caste.

Castes are a social construct like you see a class system in other places around the world. The UK for example back in the 1600s would have had the vast majority of its priests, or clergy coming from the landed gentry (it would be a typical vocation choice for younger sons in families where the land and wealth would be given to the eldest son via inheritance). But someone converting to Christianity wouldn’t be assigned a class on this basis alone.

Castes are not a part of Hinduism, but they are a huge feature of Indian society and social organisation. The portion of my family back in India still have jobs that are heavily influenced by their caste and only marry within that same caste, those who migrated to Europe are not the least bit bothered. We recently had a priest to conduct my grandmother’s post funeral service and he was not a Brahmin.
 
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And if one has an intercaste marriage, is it common for people to react negatively to it?
 
Depends on how traditional the family is. In the villages it would be taboo, probably the same in very wealthy ‘high caste’ families. It isnt helped by the fact that dating in the western sense isn’t widely practiced. When young people reach the age of marriage, they will be told who to marry or be introduced to people the parents have screened to be suitable - that suitability will likely involve caste/profession.

Second generation indians/hindus in the west who have become less traditional practice dating far more, so intercaste and interracial marriages are much more common and dont typically attract negativity
 
I could be wrong, but due to the nature and beliefs of Hinduism, I didn’t think it was a religion one can convert to - My understanding was that if you were not born a Hindu, you’ll never be one.

You can learn about it and all, but I don’t think you can actually become a true Hindu unless you’re born into it.
 
I don’t think you would have a caste upon converting. You would have to be born a Hindu to have a caste.

However, because of inter-marriage etc, many Hindus in India are also not really sure of their castes. Some priests may care what someone’s caste was, but people living in cities probably would not.

Actually in most cases, a person does not formally convert to Hinduism, but just starts going to temples or following Hindu customs.
 
Medawlinno said:
I could be wrong, but due to the nature and beliefs of Hinduism, I didn’t think it was a religion one can convert to - My understanding was that if you were not born a Hindu, you’ll never be one.

You can learn about it and all, but I don’t think you can actually become a true Hindu unless you’re born into it.
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Actually all ISKCON people (Hare-Krishna), most followers of Ammachi, many followers of the Maharishi and several other Indian Gurus consider themselves as Hindu even though they were not born Hindu. BTW the only group that I know of which has a formal conversion procedure is a group called ‘Arya Samaj’ .
 
I’m guessing many dalits converted because that type of thinking has no place in christianity
 
Yes. Dalits converted to Christianity in order to escape the inhumane treatment of “untouchables”. Even the name itself is telling.

As a matter of fact, this has made many Hindus percieve Christianity as a “less” religion.
 
LawyersGunsAndMoney said:
Anyway, after asking my Hindu family, the sense I get is that the caste thing isn’t as big a deal in modern India,
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That is interesting. I was once friends with a very nice and intelligent Hindu young lady from India and she made a point of letting me know that she was from a higher caste.
 
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