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Reform Hinduism

Reform movements have risen up within the Hindu tradition from the late 18th century to the present. Prior to these movements, the religious life of Hindus consisted of a localized folk religion, alongside a high Sanskritic tradition, shaped mainly by the learning of the Brahman caste and expressed in a centuries-old high culture of Vedantism and other related philosophical traditions.

The Brahmo Samaj

The rise of Reform Hinduism began with the impact of colonialism. By the early 19th century, new currents in imperialism, paradoxically shaped by a civilizing mission, utilitarianism, liberalism, and evangelism, influenced Hindu society, and Indian philosophers responded to this challenge. There remains a debate as to whether this response was indigenous and came from the modernity of tradition or was derived from the challenge ...

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