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Robin Rinehart, associate professor of religious studies, is the editor of Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, an undergraduate textbook that examines the contemporary practices, beliefs, and issues of one of the oldest religions, both within its Indian homeland and throughout the world.
Set for publication in July by ABC-CLIO, Contemporary Hinduism has 11 chapters, with an introductory essay by Rinehart that provides a basic historical overview and addresses the development of the definition and study of Hinduism, and a chapter she wrote on the religion’s oral and written origins.
Essays by Indian and Western scholars address issues such as the roles of caste and gender in modern Hinduism, the religion’s approach to ethics and the environment, the differences between urban and rural Hinduism as well as fundamentalist and secularist approaches to Hinduism, and how beliefs and practices compare in the various countries in which Hinduism is practiced. Unique to the book is the consistent attention given to the practice of Hinduism for both men and women.
Jennifer Roberts ’03 of Royersford, Pa., conducted research with Rinehart for her introduction to the book. The EXCEL Scholars project covered new work on the subject, including debates and controversies over the last decade.
“I’ve been fascinated with Eastern religions and cultures for a long time,” says Roberts, who graduated with a B.A. as a double major in religion and anthropology & sociology. “As a Westerner, we never really learn about these subjects in school unless we search them out. Doing this EXCEL work [was] a great opportunity to study the topic in depth.”
In Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their research through publications in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
The world’s third-largest religion, after Christianity and Islam, Hinduism comprises more than 750 million worshippers. While the vast majority live in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Hinduism has spread to Europe, Australia, the United States, and even Jamaica and Guyana. The book gives insight into how the religions impact the lives of 13 percent of the world’s population.
Rinehart is the author of One Lifetime, Many Lives: Swami Rama Tirtha and the Experience of Modern Hindu Hagiography, published by Scholar Press (now Oxford University Press), articles in books published by the Oxford and Princeton University Presses, and other publications in academic journals. She has shared her research through more than 20 lectures and conference presentations, including a talk at the International Conference on World Peace in Ahmedabad, India, in December 2003 and several addresses to the American Academy of Religion.
She is working on a book about the highly controversial Dasam Granth, a compilation of writings attributed to Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the 10th guru of Sikhism, a religion developed in the Punjab in the 16th century. Rinehart spent a sabbatical semester in India to conduct research for the book, meeting with Indian academics who study Sikh history at universities in the region in northwest India on land divided between India and Pakistan. Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism — all practiced there — have a long history of interaction, she says. Her book will address a work that has received little critical scholarly attention.
“While contemporary Sikh leaders insist on Sikhism’s strict monotheism and devotion to a nameless, formless god, the Dasam Granth contains numerous prayers to Hindu goddesses,” says Rinehart. “While normative Sikh tradition draws a sharp boundary between Sikhism and Hinduism, the Dasam Granth includes detailed, impassioned recounting of episodes from Hindu mythology. Yet another area of controversy is the substantial portion of the Dasam Granth that considers what scholars somewhat euphemistically refer to as ‘the wiles of women.'”
Rinehart uses several languages in her research, including French, German, Hindi, medieval Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi, medieval Panjabi, Sanskrit, and Bengali. She gave Hindi-speaking lessons to Aditi Mahendroo ’04 (Ridgewood, N.J.), a double major in Spanish and economics & business.
“Conducting research means you continue to learn and stay curious, which creates enthusiasm that you can bring into your teaching,” Rinehart says.
As she brings the issues and enthusiasm stimulated by her research back to the classroom, Rinehart says she seeks to stimulate students’ curiosity and motivate them to wrestle with issues they previously have not considered.
“Studying religion gives people the opportunity to think about what they value and why,” she notes, “and to learn something about what other people value. I also think students are interested in looking at how people negotiate their own relationship with their religion. How do you decide if you believe everything your religion teaches?”
Rinehart has worked with over 20 Lafayette students in independent study and honors thesis projects. This past semester, she mentored psychology major Anita Muduli ’04 (Tranquility, N.J.) in her independent study of the role of Hindu women’s education in India and the United States.
Rinehart served as professor, academic adviser, and London study-abroad leader for Lindsay Gianacopolos ’01, who graduated with a B.A. and majors in religion and anthropology & sociology.
“She had a significant impact on me,” says Gianacopolos. “Professor Rinehart has excellent insights into many different religions and was the reason I wanted to study religion. She gave me confidence in what I was doing.”
After graduating from Lafayette, Gianacopolos enrolled at Quinnipiac University to pursue a master’s degree in secondary education.
“I hope someday as a teacher I can impact someone the way she has impacted me,” she says. “Her patience and understanding are two things I’ll take with me to the classroom.”
Rinehart has received a summer seminar fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an Advanced Study Grant to participate in the Columbia-UC Santa Barbara Summer Program in Punjab Studies, based in Chandigarh, India, and numerous other fellowships and grants. She is the recipient of Lafayette’s Jones Faculty Award for superior teaching and scholarship.
Coordinator of Asian studies at Lafayette, Rinehart joined the faculty as an instructor of religion in 1991 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1992 and to associate professor in 1999. She received her bachelor’s degree in comparative religions and master’s in South Asian studies from the University of Washington in 1983 and 1986, respectively, and her Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, writing her dissertation on the life and teachings of Swami Rama Tirtha.