An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism (Introduction to Religion)

This book is a comprehensive study of a modern form of Hinduism that is growing in the place of its birth in the Indian state of Gujarat and among Indian immigrants in East Africa, Great Britain, and the United States. It is the most prominent form of transnational Hinduism because it creates networks that define and preserve ethnic and religious identity in the modern context of rapid mobility and communication. Founded by Swaminarayan (1781-1830), a religious reformer in a time of great social and political change in Gujarat, Swaminarayan Hinduism expounds a path of devotion to Swaminarayan as the final, perfect manifestation of God. Professor Williams provides a detailed introduction to the history, theology, discipline, and ritual of this important form of Hinduism.

Swaminarayan Hinduism is among the most important Indian religious exports because of its strength in India among Gujaratis and the prominence of Gujaratis in the US and Britain. This book offers a comprehensive treatment of a modern, reformed Hinduism: the religion of a significant group of immigrants in the west. Based on and extending, with considerable updating and revision, Williams' A New Face of Hinduism: The Swaminarayan Religion (Cambridge, 1984), the book places Swaminarayan Hinduism in the context of transnational Hinduism, analysing its current status in India and abroad.