How Hindu is Similar to Southern

Since I am Hindu, there are not many obvious similarities between my culture and Southern culture; however, there are some striking comparisons that can be made between the two. For example in the South, religion is a huge part of the Southern identity.

The South is mostly Protestant Christians, majorly considering that it is the primary location of the Bible Belt (below). In this area, church attendance across the denominations are extremely high since religion is a major feature of Southern identity. For many Hindus, religion is also a major part of our lives because that is where we derive most of our values, traditions, etc. Religion is a major part of my life as well: I pray everyday and go to my temple every Sunday. This is similar to many Christians in the South that go to church on Sundays.


Another similarity between my background and Southern identity is that both have some sort of hospitality. As we blogged about this topic before, we all know what Southern hospitality is. In the same way as a Hindu, I also believe in some sort of hospitality or respect. Hindus believe that whenever some sort of guests visit, we must treat him with hospitality and serve them with respect to their every needs. Basically we must treat them as if they were a part of our family. Just with these two examples, you can see the similarities between the two seemingly different cultures.

With this being Easter weekend, I was in church a lot. My faith plays a big role in my life and is part of my identity. Another big part of my identity is being a Southerner. In our studies of Southern identity we touched on the subject of religion as a part of the Southern identity. Even though religion is a big part of my life, it is not something that connects me with the South. I am Eastern Orthodox Christian, which is not your typical Southern religion. I went to a lamb roast after the Easter service and while I was there I couldn't help but see how similar an Orthodox identity was to a Southern identity at that specific time. I went with a friend and her whole extended family and their neighbors and friends were there. It was so similar to a Southern barbecue. Everyone was eating and drinking and having a great time. The men were all sitting around the lamb spit working the meat so that it would be just right while the women were inside setting up the buffet. We stuffed ourselves and then lounged around in the yard and drank some more. Pretty soon the papou (grandfather) brought out a bag of cigars and all the guys sat around talking while smoking cigars.

We all come from different backgrounds so this week I would like y'all to discuss how some aspect of your identity is similar or different from a Southern identity.