Date of Award
5-12-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Religion
Advisor(s)
Joanne Waghorne
Second Advisor
Margaret Thompson
Keywords
domestic religiosity;Hindu diaspora;Hinduism;spatial theory;Swaminarayan Hinduism
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Religion
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes the importance of the domestic sphere as a site for the transmission and development of an individual devotional disposition for Swaminarayan Hindus living in the United States and Canada. Focusing on Hindus in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) community living in Canada and the United States, this dissertation presents a new direction for existing scholarship of Hinduism in the public sphere by arguing for a more holistic study of how Hindus living outside of India develop and maintain a religious identity in their daily lives in the domestic sphere, both collectively as a family and individually. This dissertation explores home shrines and the religious praxis surrounding them, devotees’ collective and individual forms of engagement with various acts of bhakti (devotion), and how BAPS fostered community through varied uses of technology during the COVID19 pandemic. In analyzing the domestic sphere through the analytical lens of spatial theory, I demonstrate the role the domestic sphere carries in devotees’ sādhanā (spiritual endeavors) and overall negotiation of identity as a bhakta (devotee).
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Patel, Aarti, "Between Visits: Hindu Domestic Religiosity, Home Shrines, and Thirdspace in the Diaspora" (2024). Dissertations - ALL. 1975.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1975
