Western Hindus and 'Global Hinduism' - Discourses on Conversion to 'Hindu-Religions', Acceptance of Converts and Social Engagement

The paper deals with the problem of (the often supposedly impossible) conversion to “Hinduism”. I start with an outline of what I call the ‘no conversion possible’ paradigm, and briefl y point to the lack of refl ection on acceptance of converts in most theories of religious conversion. Then, two examples are presented: Firstly, I consider conversion to ISKCON and the discourse on the Hare Krishna movement’s Hinduness. Secondly, I give a brief outline of the globalsanatana dharmamovement as inaugurated by Satguru Siva Subramuniyaswami, a converted American Hindu based in Hawai’i. In the conclusion, I refl ect on (civic) social capital and engagement in global networks as a means to gain acceptance as converts to Hinduism. I argue in line with Stepick, Rey and Mahler (2009) that the religious movements’ civic engagement (in these cases engagement in favour of the Indian diasporic communities and of Hindus in India) provides a means for the individual, non-Indian converts to acquire the social capital that is necessary for gaining acceptance as ‘Hindus’ in certain contexts.