About the Book: Hinduism as a Missionary Religion
Reconsiders whether Hinduism can be considered a missionary religion. Is
Hinduism a missionary religion? Merely posing this question is a novel and
provocative act. Popular and scholarly perception, both ancient and modern, puts
Hinduism in the nonmissionary category. In this intriguing book, Arvind Sharma
reopens the question. Examining the historical evidence from the major Hindu
eras, the Vedic, classical, medieval, and modern periods, Sharmas investigation
challenges the categories used in current scholarly discourse and finds them
inadequate, emphasizing the need to distinguish between a missionary religion
and a proselytizing one. A distinction rarely made, it is nevertheless an
illuminating and