Sikhism: An Introduction to a New Religion and Culture

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Sikhism: An Introduction to a New Religion and Culture

Throughout the past several years and as a member of a very small religious group, I have made a point to study world religions and their corresponding cultural groups. As such, I feel that I have a decent grasp on the basics of the major world religions -- at least from an outsider’s viewpoint. However, one group I feel I have the least amount of knowledge on is the Sikhs. The tidbits of information I have picked up over the years regarding this group has always been interesting to me, but I felt that this would be an ideal opportunity to increase my knowledge and understanding of this small religious group.

There are approximately 27-30 million Sikhs worldwide, making it the fifth largest religion in the world (O’Brien, 2012). From this population, approximately 63% of all Sikhs live in India. The majority of the Sikhs living in India come from the Punjab region and make up the majority of the population in that region -- this is the only place in the world where Sikhs are not a minority religion and instead make up the majority population. This high density in the region likely attributes to the code that dictates that Sikhs must learn and teach their children the Punjabi language (Sikhs.org, 2011). Because the majority of Sikhs are Indian with relatively few converts compared to other religions that actively prosthelytize, Indian culture and Sikh culture are intimately intertwined. Outside of India, the largest number of Sikhs live in various regions of Canada, French Guiana, the United Kingdom, and Fiji (Oxford Sikhs, 2014). In the United States, the Sikhs are a relatively small minority -- though the United States does not have an exact method of accounting for rel...

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Real Sikhism. (2014). What Are Sikh Views on Inter-Faith Marriage? FAQ: Modern Life.

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Sikh Answers. (2010, April 12). What is Sikh attitude to divorce. Sikh Answers. Retrieved from:

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http://www.sikhcoalition.org/resources/about-sikhs/at-a-glance

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http://www.sikhcoalition.org/resources/about-sikhs/faq

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http://www.sikhs.org/summary.htm

Sikhs.org. (2011). The Khalsa. Sikhs.org. Retrieved from: http://www.sikhs.org/khalsa.htm

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