Modern Hinduism: Reform, Gandhi and a Global Faith

From the 19th century, Hinduism was reshaped by encounters with colonial rule, Christian missions and modern ideas. Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 and campaigned against sati, the burning of widows, which the British banned in 1829. Swami Vivekananda electrified the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago by presenting Vedanta as a universal, tolerant philosophy. Mohandas Gandhi drew on Hindu ideas such as ahimsa and satyagraha ('truth-force') to lead mass non-violent resistance.

At the same time, Hindu identity became politically charged, and debates continue in India over the relationship between religion and the state, with some emphasizing secular pluralism and others a Hindu cultural nationalism. Migration has carried Hinduism across the globe, to the Caribbean, East Africa, Britain, North America and beyond. Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with more than a billion followers concentrated in India and Nepal.