Religion and ethnic ideology: The Hindu youth movement in Trinidad

Abstract

Ethnic ideologies, comprised of selective reflections on past, present and future plights of a community within a given context, arise or are modified at certain historical junctures often marked by rapid social change. Religious concepts, values and practices may play fundamental roles in the formation of such ideologies, since they provide points of reference or legitimations which hold considerable affective power among community members. These religious components of ethnic ideology, moreover, are by no means fixed; they may be reformulated in multifold ways in relation to contextual change. This article explores these notions by way of a history of Hinduism in Trinidad, and particularly, through an examination of the contemporary Hindu youth movement. It is shown that Hindu ethnic ideology in Trinidad has been historically forged through a sequence of different circumstances in the past, and that the current movement represents an exemplary case demonstrating the relation of religion and ethnic ideology.

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