Marrying a Hindu

[XD1993]

I am new to these forums and so I apologize if I am not posting this in the correct place: I’m a Catholic woman, engaged to be married to a Hindu. His family does not have a problem with him marrying into a Christian family; however, we have recently brought up the topic of children and he is disappointed to know that his children will be unable to know and share in his beliefs. And so he brought up this question: Can one child be raised Catholic and the other Hindu? This makes me uneasy and I know we have a lot to think about, but first I want to know the Church’s stance on this. Basically what I am asking is, are there any compromises that can be made?

hi,
i come from a Hindu family, and am currently in the process of RCIA. a lot of Hindus aren’t really religious, but consider a lot of Indian culture as part of religion. maybe you could try to compromise that you would follow a lot of Indian culture and traditions, such as diwali and holi (they do have some Hindu religion background, however you can celebrate it just as a fun festival, like people celebrate Halloween) and maybe teach your kids (if its a girl) Indian classical dancing, or maybe also teach them to speak Hindi etc. Let him know you’re open to the cultural aspect, just not religious. also, if he’s south indian, you can show him a syro-malabar church if you have one in your area. it’s catholic, but with a lot of Indian culture and traditions. Hope all works well

 

[Gary_Sheldrake]

Gary,
I am not sure where you are getting your ideas from but I will tell you that there are very big differences between Catholic and Hinduism, and to compare the trinity to the multiple gods and goddess os Hinduism kinda show an incredible lack of understanding on what the Church teaches and means by the trinity. I work with Hindus and in my post I didn’t say anything bad or disbarring about the religion. As a basic principle, one should not marry outside of one’s faith and that applies to all religions and is taught by many religious leaders in a variety of faiths. One can’t teach their children that their is one God who became a man and died for us and our sins and then turn around and teach reincarnation and that there is a multitude of gods and we are in this endless cycle of life and death. Likewise, there are different expectations, holidays, ideas etc that are not even being addressed here. There are issues over birth control which again would not be against any Hindu teaching. I also said I am sure he is a very nice man but it take much more than very nice to have a happy marriage and oneness in it. Just go over on the prayer requests on CAF and read all the requests by Catholics WHO married non-Catholics and now the holy war they are having and the problems because the other spouse isn’t Catholic. I’ve been married 26 years, I am married to a marriage therapist and my advice since OP did ask is that she needs to rethink this engagement to someone that is outside of the Christian faith. You can’t have it both ways and marriage is challenging enough with the added issues of different religions. In case you think I am making this up, Rabbis and Immans will generally not marry mixed faith couples and encourage same faith marriages within their own respective religions of Judiasm and Islam. This is also true in Mormonism and evangelical Protestantism. The Bible in the OT as well as the NT clearly states not to marry outside of the faith or “not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever”. If he is already expressing concern that future children won’t be raised as Hindus then you already have a red flag here and this will only get bigger as time goes on.

Hello Robowar: While it is true that differences can be seen between religions, I think these are for the most part a matter of perception and orientation. I tend to see the commonalities. An ex-Hindu person just wrote on this thread that for most Hindus, religion is a matter of culture. Having lived with Hindus, I think this is true. But as a Catholic, and having been Catholic all my life I can also say that while we are more dogmatic about what we believe, I think that a lot of what we believe is a matter of culture as well. Nothing anyone believes about the nature of God is based on the outcome of open inquiry or findings. It’s usually a matter of what we have been taught, and which iteration of truth we subscribe to based on the faith traditions we follow. But all of these traditions are based on some basic tenets like love and kindness. These are the aspects of all religions that overcome and transcend. It’s in the particulars that we cause problems amongst ourselves.Love and kindness are the only real tangible traces of what we might all call God in this world. These are the aspects of God and ourselves that we can prove, demonstrate and experience, yet we get hung up on the stuff we haven’t seen and the parts that we can’t prove either way, and we let these overshadow what we do know. This is how I think we cause a lot of our own problems.

 

[Philomath]

Gary,
I am not sure where you are getting your ideas from but I will tell you that there are very big differences between Catholic and Hinduism, and to compare the trinity to the multiple gods and goddess os Hinduism kinda show an incredible lack of understanding on what the Church teaches and means by the trinity. I work with Hindus and in my post I didn’t say anything bad or disbarring about the religion. As a basic principle, one should not marry outside of one’s faith and that applies to all religions and is taught by many religious leaders in a variety of faiths. One can’t teach their children that their is one God who became a man and died for us and our sins and then turn around and teach reincarnation and that there is a multitude of gods and we are in this endless cycle of life and death. Likewise, there are different expectations, holidays, ideas etc that are not even being addressed here. There are issues over birth control which again would not be against any Hindu teaching. I also said I am sure he is a very nice man but it take much more than very nice to have a happy marriage and oneness in it. Just go over on the prayer requests on CAF and read all the requests by Catholics WHO married non-Catholics and now the holy war they are having and the problems because the other spouse isn’t Catholic. I’ve been married 26 years, I am married to a marriage therapist and my advice since OP did ask is that she needs to rethink this engagement to someone that is outside of the Christian faith. You can’t have it both ways and marriage is challenging enough with the added issues of different religions. In case you think I am making this up, Rabbis and Immans will generally not marry mixed faith couples and encourage same faith marriages within their own respective religions of Judiasm and Islam. This is also true in Mormonism and evangelical Protestantism. The Bible in the OT as well as the NT clearly states not to marry outside of the faith or “not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever”. If he is already expressing concern that future children won’t be raised as Hindus then you already have a red flag here and this will only get bigger as time goes on.

Correction** some **Hindu’s believe in multiple gods. Hinduism espouses a multitude of beliefs. That said though the largest sect within Hinduism (Vaishnavism) is Monotheistic.

 

[Gary_Sheldrake]

Correction** some **Hindu’s believe in multiple gods. Hinduism espouses a multitude of beliefs. That said though the largest sect within Hinduism (Vaishnavism) is Monotheistic.

Correct. And within the framework of Vaishnavism, Jesus could easily be worshiped as an Avatar, which is not much different from what we believe Jesus to be. You can see the differences as great, or see them as small. You could even see them as the same thing, with the only differences being cultural.

 

[Veedar]

Correct. And within the framework of Vaishnavism, Jesus could easily be worshiped as an Avatar, which is not much different from what we believe Jesus to be. You can see the differences as great, or see them as small. You could even see them as the same thing, with the only differences being cultural.

Most educated hindus think the different gods reflect different aspects of the one God that is in all and through all. There is a difference in philosophy here:

• In the Old Testament, we are told that nothing is like God, and therefore one is not to make any graven image of God.
• In the Hindu scriptures, we are told that nothing is like God, and so it is ok to make all kinds of images of God that reflect different aspects of the divine nature. Whatever stamp you put on the envelope, the letter will reach God.

But there is basic agreement that God is one.

It is also easy for a Hindu to accept Jesus as God incarnate, as they think God has become incarnate several times in order to set things straight when the worship of God degenerates. Some Hindu sects even believes that a guru can choose to take upon himself the negative karma of his followers, and since Jesus made followers of all the world, he can take upon himself the negative karma of all the world.

 

[Philomath]

It is also easy for a Hindu to accept Jesus as God incarnate, as they think God has become incarnate several times in order to set things straight when the worship of God degenerates. Some Hindu sects even believes that a guru can choose to take upon himself the negative karma of his followers, and since Jesus made followers of all the world, he can take upon himself the negative karma of all the world.

I think you should be specific when your speaking because all Hindu’s do not believe in Avatars, I certainly do not. Vaishnavas as far as I know are the only Hindu sect which believe in Avatars. Can you state which Hindu sects you’re speaking of because I’ve never heard of that guru idea.

 

[Philomath]

Correct. And within the framework of Vaishnavism, Jesus could easily be worshiped as an Avatar, which is not much different from what we believe Jesus to be. You can see the differences as great, or see them as small. You could even see them as the same thing, with the only differences being cultural.

I agree.

 

[Veedar]

I think you should be specific when your speaking because all Hindu’s do not believe in Avatars, I certainly do not. Vaishnavas as far as I know are the only Hindu sect which believe in Avatars. Can you state which Hindu sects you’re speaking of because I’ve never heard of that guru idea.

Hinduism is many faceted, and so it is hard to make a statement of doctrine that is common to absolutely all Hindus. If I am mistaken about the commonality of avatars to Hindus, then I am sorry. If so, I have been led to believe this by reading books about Hinduism, written by Hindus. The Wikipedia article on the subject must also be misleading:

"In Hinduism, an avatar /ˈævətɑr/ (Hindustani: əʋˈt̪aːr], from Sanskrit अवतार avatāra “descent”) is a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being (e.g., Vishnu for Vaishnavites), and is mostly translated into English as “incarnation”, but more accurately as “appearance” or “manifestation”.[1][2]

The phenomenon of an avatar (descent of God in human and other forms[3]) is observed in Hinduism, Ayyavazhi, and Sikhism only. Thus Avataravada is one of the core principles of Hinduism along with Ekeshwaravada (One Supreme Divine Reality), Veda Praman (Authority of the Vedas), Atman, Karma, Murti Puja, Ahimsa, and Punarjanma (Reincarnation)." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar emphasis mine).

I must look up the reference for the claim of gurus taking upon themselves the sins of the followers. I remember reading it in an ecumenical work with Christian and Hindu contributing authors years ago, but I don’t remember the title so I have to look through my library.

 

[Veedar]

I found this quote online:

“Jesus signified himself as a ransom for the sins of many. With his divine powers, his body could never have been subjected to death by crucifixion if he had not willingly cooperated with the subtle cosmic law of cause and effect. He thus took on himself the consequences of others’ karma, especially that of his disciples. In this manner they were highly purified and made fit to receive the omnipresent consciousness which later descended on them.”

—From Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi”

thenazareneway.com/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi/Chapter%2021.htm

 

[Elizium23]

Correct. And within the framework of Vaishnavism, Jesus could easily be worshiped as an Avatar, which is not much different from what we believe Jesus to be. You can see the differences as great, or see them as small. You could even see them as the same thing, with the only differences being cultural.

You could not see them as the same thing and remain Catholic. The Christian understanding of one God in three Persons, with Jesus as the Only Begotten Son, is in clear conflict with any flavor of Hindu understanding. To teach children that they are similar, or the same, or focus on commonalities without teaching the clear truths of the Catholic faith, would be extremely damaging to the spiritual upbringing of children.

Parents bear the primary responsibility for a child’s spiritual education, and it is up to the parents to first get the facts of their faith straight before passing it on to future generations. If a Catholic practices syncretism or indifferentism and passes these defects on to his or her children, then the parent is the one responsible for the apostasy that will surely follow.

Parents have a responsibility to baptize their children and raise them with strong faith. This is a core feature of Catholic marriages. If Catholics obtain permission for disparity of cult, and marry outside the Christian faith, only to have children who never correctly learn their faith or receive their sacraments, then what is the whole point of this exercise? It is the loss of souls that should be enjoying the salvation which only the Church provides. It is a preventable tragedy.

The role of the husband is to sanctify his wife, and the role of the wife is to sanctify her husband. This is the primary goal of marriage: to help each other get to Heaven. If a Hindu husband leads his wife and children away from the Christian faith then that is not a marriage, that is proselytizing under the guise of love.

 

[Veedar]

You could not see them as the same thing and remain Catholic. The Christian understanding of one God in three Persons, with Jesus as the Only Begotten Son, is in clear conflict with any flavor of Hindu understanding. To teach children that they are similar, or the same, or focus on commonalities without teaching the clear truths of the Catholic faith, would be extremely damaging to the spiritual upbringing of children.

Parents bear the primary responsibility for a child’s spiritual education, and it is up to the parents to first get the facts of their faith straight before passing it on to future generations. If a Catholic practices syncretism or indifferentism and passes these defects on to his or her children, then the parent is the one responsible for the apostasy that will surely follow.

Parents have a responsibility to baptize their children and raise them with strong faith. This is a core feature of Catholic marriages. If Catholics obtain permission for disparity of cult, and marry outside the Christian faith, only to have children who never correctly learn their faith or receive their sacraments, then what is the whole point of this exercise? It is the loss of souls that should be enjoying the salvation which only the Church provides. It is a preventable tragedy.

The role of the husband is to sanctify his wife, and the role of the wife is to sanctify her husband. This is the primary goal of marriage: to help each other get to Heaven. If a Hindu husband leads his wife and children away from the Christian faith then that is not a marriage, that is proselytizing under the guise of love.

However:

"Throughout history even to the present day, there is found among different peoples a certain awareness of a hidden power, which lies behind the course of nature and the events of human life At times there is present even a recognition of a supreme being or still more of a Father. This awareness and recognition results in a way of life that is imbued with a deep religious sense. The religions which are found in more advanced civilizations endeavor by way of well-defined concepts and exact language to answer these questions. Thus in Hinduism men explore the divine mystery and express it both in the limitless riches of myth and the accurately defined insights of philosophy. They seek release from the trials of the present life by ascetical practices, profound meditation and recourse to God in confidence and love. (…)

The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men." - Nostra Aetate

 

[Philomath]

Hinduism is many faceted, and so it is hard to make a statement of doctrine that is common to absolutely all Hindus. If I am mistaken about the commonality of avatars to Hindus, then I am sorry. If so, I have been led to believe this by reading books about Hinduism, written by Hindus. The Wikipedia article on the subject must also be misleading:

"In Hinduism, an avatar /ˈævətɑr/ (Hindustani: əʋˈt̪aːr], from Sanskrit अवतार avatāra “descent”) is a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being (e.g., Vishnu for Vaishnavites), and is mostly translated into English as “incarnation”, but more accurately as “appearance” or “manifestation”.[1][2]

The phenomenon of an avatar (descent of God in human and other forms[3]) is observed in Hinduism, Ayyavazhi, and Sikhism only. Thus Avataravada is one of the core principles of Hinduism along with Ekeshwaravada (One Supreme Divine Reality), Veda Praman (Authority of the Vedas), Atman, Karma, Murti Puja, Ahimsa, and Punarjanma (Reincarnation)." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar emphasis mine).

I must look up the reference for the claim of gurus taking upon themselves the sins of the followers. I remember reading it in an ecumenical work with Christian and Hindu contributing authors years ago, but I don’t remember the title so I have to look through my library.

It’s no problem

But yes that Wikipedia article is misleading someone should go back and edit it. Avatars are not a core principle in Hinduism, I don’t even think there are any core principles in Hinduism because Hindu’s cannot all agree on anything.

 

[Gary_Sheldrake]

It’s no problem

But yes that Wikipedia article is misleading someone should go back and edit it. Avatars are not a core principle in Hinduism, I don’t even think there are any core principles in Hinduism because Hindu’s cannot all agree on anything.

That is because there is no formal religion called Hinduism. It’s a western term for the many belief systems on the Indian sub-continent, although most have an appreciation for Unpanishadic ideas on the nature of reality.

 

[Gary_Sheldrake]

You could not see them as the same thing and remain Catholic.

I see lot of commonalities. I remain a Catholic in good standing. You see differences. You remain a Catholic In good standing. So here we are, face to face, two Catholics who disagree.

The Christian understanding of one God in three Persons, with Jesus as the Only Begotten Son, is in clear conflict with any flavor of Hindu understanding.

Would you be willing to offer some specifics we could discuss as to how they are different?

To teach children that they are similar, or the same, or focus on commonalities without teaching the clear truths of the Catholic faith, would be extremely damaging to the spiritual upbringing of children.

To teach children about other religions, other cultures and other people is called education. No one’s spiritual upbringing is damaged by knowledge. To think otherwise is to suggest that Catholicism is threatened by knowledge. I don’t think it is. I think Catholicism is strengthened by knowledge. The more the better.

Parents bear the primary responsibility for a child’s spiritual education, and it is up to the parents to first get the facts of their faith straight before passing it on to future generations. If a Catholic practices syncretism or indifferentism and passes these defects on to his or her children, then the parent is the one responsible for the apostasy that will surely follow.

The truth has nothing to fear from facts and learning.

Parents have a responsibility to baptize their children and raise them with strong faith. This is a core feature of Catholic marriages. If Catholics obtain permission for disparity of cult, and marry outside the Christian faith, only to have children who never correctly learn their faith or receive their sacraments, then what is the whole point of this exercise? It is the loss of souls that should be enjoying the salvation which only the Church provides. It is a preventable tragedy.

Lots of people marry people outside the Catholic faith and raise the children as Catholic. This is allowable by the Church.

If a Hindu husband leads his wife and children away from the Christian faith then that is not a marriage, that is proselytizing under the guise of love.

But if a Catholic leads a Hindu away from their faith that is something entirely different, because what everyone else has is a belief system, whereas we however, have the truth. Except that’s what everyone else believes about themselves as well. You and I are Catholic because that’s what we believe. For me it feels right because that’s how I was raised, but you and I don’t have a shred of evidence that would suggest that what we believe is somehow more valid than what someone else believes, so making statements about other faiths endangering souls posits something that is a bit untenable in fact. It is also in direct conflict with the Church’s position on the prospects of people of other faiths in regards to their salvation. I also don’t think that it is for you or I to say whose love is a guise whose is genuine.

 

[Elizium23]

Gary, your understanding of the Catholic Church’s claims about herself is poor, and your posts smack of indifferentism. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Nostra Aetate did not change this dogma. Hinduism is an inherently syncretistic faith which accounts for its many branches and flavors. There are Hindus who are happy to claim monotheism and there are Hindus who are happy to claim Jesus as one of their gods. That doesn’t put us on equal footing. The latter is a violation of the First Commandment. Our God is a jealous God and our Church is an exclusive spiritual body which constitutes the Body of Christ and the community of believers. While there are truths taught in Hinduism there are also falsehoods and demonic influence - let’s take the sacred tradition of sati as an example. The True God would never command women to immolate themselves violently such as this. Abortion would be taken as a blessing by Hindus, a freeing of a soul to be reincarnated as a cricket or something, or at worst a punishment for bad karma. The caste system which teaches that we are all born to a particular position in life and nothing we can do will change that; this is directly opposed to “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, woman or man.” These are falsehoods that cannot be seen as “equally valid” or celebrated as a unique understanding of God, they are not of God at all, they are worldly or demonic practices that cannot be tolerated.

The fact that there is much acceptance of Christians and Christian belief is a central tenet of Hinduism, that freedom of belief and worship is encouraged. So it is not surprising that Catholics who are infected by Hinduism should welcome its establishment on equal footing with the True Faith. Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian reflection on the “New Age” is a good read for any Catholic who dabbles in Oriental religions or New Age occultism:

Quite a few New Age groups welcome every opportunity to explain their philosophy and activities to others. Encounters with these groups should be approached with care, and should always involve persons who are capable of both explaining Catholic faith and spirituality, and of reflecting critically on New Age thought and practice. It is extremely important to check the credentials of people, groups and institutions claiming to offer guidance and information on New Age. In some cases what has started out as impartial investigation has later become active promotion of, or advocacy on behalf of, “alternative religions”. Some international institutions are actively pursuing campaigns which promote respect for “religious diversity”, and claim religious status for some questionable organisations. This fits in with the New Age vision of moving into an age where the limited character of particular religions gives way to the universality of a new religion or spirituality. Genuine dialogue, on the other hand, will always respect diversity from the outset, and will never seek to blur distinctions in a fusion of all religious traditions.

Catholics are duty-bound to lead Hindus away from a false religion. We have been given the Great Commission: “Go and preach the Gospel to all the world”. Christ is our light and no-one else can compare. Our evidence is clear in Sacred Scripture, the authority of the Church and her Magisterium, and Sacred Tradition. There is no question that Christianity is Truth and all other religions are false. That is the Church’s constant teaching and that is our understanding of the primacy of Jesus Christ in the world and in Heaven.

 

[robwar]

Gary, your understanding of the Catholic Church’s claims about herself is poor, and your posts smack of indifferentism. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Nostra Aetate did not change this dogma. Hinduism is an inherently syncretistic faith which accounts for its many branches and flavors. There are Hindus who are happy to claim monotheism and there are Hindus who are happy to claim Jesus as one of their gods. That doesn’t put us on equal footing. The latter is a violation of the First Commandment. Our God is a jealous God and our Church is an exclusive spiritual body which constitutes the Body of Christ and the community of believers. While there are truths taught in Hinduism there are also falsehoods and demonic influence - let’s take the sacred tradition of sati as an example. The True God would never command women to immolate themselves violently such as this. Abortion would be taken as a blessing by Hindus, a freeing of a soul to be reincarnated as a cricket or something, or at worst a punishment for bad karma. The caste system which teaches that we are all born to a particular position in life and nothing we can do will change that; this is directly opposed to “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, woman or man.” These are falsehoods that cannot be seen as “equally valid” or celebrated as a unique understanding of God, they are not of God at all, they are worldly or demonic practices that cannot be tolerated.

The fact that there is much acceptance of Christians and Christian belief is a central tenet of Hinduism, that freedom of belief and worship is encouraged. So it is not surprising that Catholics who are infected by Hinduism should welcome its establishment on equal footing with the True Faith. Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian reflection on the “New Age” is a good read for any Catholic who dabbles in Oriental religions or New Age occultism:

Catholics are duty-bound to lead Hindus away from a false religion. We have been given the Great Commission: “Go and preach the Gospel to all the world”. Christ is our light and no-one else can compare. Our evidence is clear in Sacred Scripture, the authority of the Church and her Magisterium, and Sacred Tradition. There is no question that Christianity is Truth and all other religions are false. That is the Church’s constant teaching and that is our understanding of the primacy of Jesus Christ in the world and in Heaven.

Thanks Elizium you rock! This is true but in answer to the basic question is that if one is truly serious about their faith and intend on raising their children in it, then it is imperative to find a spouse of the same faith and commitment to it. This is supported by many other faiths than Catholic or Christian. Mixed faith households have added stress and issues, tensions and problems and it is totally unwise to think otherwise.

 

[Veedar]

While there are truths taught in Hinduism there are also falsehoods and demonic influence(…) Catholics are duty-bound to lead Hindus away from a false religion. We have been given the Great Commission: “Go and preach the Gospel to all the world”. (…)

A couple of questions: It is clear that one can find Hindu teachings and practices that would no longer be accepted by most Hindus today and that can be said reflect negative aspects of human nature. But surely this is not unique to Hinduism? In the Bible we find God ordering genocide, condoning slavery, drowning the whole world in a flood, murdering innocent Egyptian babies because of what a pharaoh did, Moses ordering the mass killing of women captives of war who were not virgins, and sanctioning rape of the women who were. Even human sacrifice was commanded by God according to Ezekiel 20:24-26:

“because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols. So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.’”

This reminds me of Jesus saying:

““Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

As for the great commission, where Jesus told his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations, why do you think Peter and the other apostles had no recollection of this event in Acts? What was the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 for, if Jesus had already told them in advance to do this? Why a vague dream from Peter that told them that God wanted to preach the gospel to all nations if Jesus had already explicitly commanded this?

 

[Philomath]

That doesn’t put us on equal footing. The latter is a violation of the First Commandment. Our God is a jealous God and our Church is an exclusive spiritual body which constitutes the Body of Christ and the community of believers. While there are truths taught in Hinduism there are also falsehoods and demonic influence - let’s take the sacred tradition of sati as an example
The True God would never command women to immolate themselves violently such as this.

Sati is not an obligation or a commandment in Hinduism I don’t know where your getting this from.

Abortion would be taken as a blessing by Hindus, a freeing of a soul to be reincarnated as a cricket or something, or at worst a punishment for bad karma

Opinions about abortion very from Hindu to Hindu but I’ve never known any Hindu who claims abortion is a “blessing”. You obviously have no idea about reincarnation.

[The caste system which teaches that we are all born to a particular position in life and nothing we can do will change that; this is directly opposed to “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, woman or man.”

This is not what the caste system states. The caste system is not even a part of Hinduism it formed out of the degeneration of the Varna system which based off your statement it appears you know nothing about.

These are falsehoods that cannot be seen as “equally valid” or celebrated as a unique understanding of God, they are not of God at all, they are worldly or demonic practices that cannot be tolerated.

Ok

The fact that there is much acceptance of Christians and Christian belief is a central tenet of Hinduism, that freedom of belief and worship is encouraged. So it is not surprising that Catholics who are infected by Hinduism should welcome its establishment on equal footing with the True Faith.

It’s vividly clear that you know absolutely nothing about Hinduism. The acceptance of Christianity isn’t one of Hinduism’s central tenets, that wouldn’t even make sense considering the fact Hinduism predates Christianity by at least 3,000 years. As Hindu’s were taught to respect other people’s paths to God…this does not mean we incorporate their own path into our religion though.

Catholics are duty-bound to lead Hindus away from a false religion. We have been given the Great Commission: “Go and preach the Gospel to all the world”. Christ is our light and no-one else can compare. Our evidence is clear in Sacred Scripture, the authority of the Church and her Magisterium, and Sacred Tradition. There is no question that Christianity is Truth and all other religions are false. That is the Church’s constant teaching and that is our understanding of the primacy of Jesus Christ in the world and in Heaven.

No thanks I’m perfectly fine practicing my “false religion.”
[/quote]

 

[Philomath]

That is because there is no formal religion called Hinduism. It’s a western term for the many belief systems on the Indian sub-continent, although most have an appreciation for Unpanishadic ideas on the nature of reality.

I agree with the no formal religion. I’d say Hinduism is a juxtaposition of multiple religions that share a central origin in the Vedas.

 

[Philomath]

A couple of questions: It is clear that one can find Hindu teachings and practices that would no longer be accepted by most Hindus today and that can be said reflect negative aspects of human nature. But surely this is not unique to Hinduism?

I acknowledge that Hinduism is not a perfect religion; no religion is. But what are these practices and teachings that you are referring to? I haven’t come across anything in Hinduism that is comparable to things in the OT of the Bible.