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100
Birth of the Gods
Hinduism originated from the birth of the many gods of the religion. Hindus believe that there are millions of gods watching over them, but they follow the beliefs of three main gods; Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. Brahma, the god of creation, is the almighty of the three gods in Hinduism, while Vishnu is the Hindu god of protection, and Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction. All of the gods were born before the start of Hinduism, but there exact birth dates are all unknown. -
125
The Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilizaion, which established in 2600 BCE, was where early forms of Hindu beliefs began. The civilization spread throughout Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. -
150
The Vedic Period
In the 1750 BCE Indo Aryan pastoralist invaded the Indus Valley Civilization and overran it. Throughout the Vedic Period the early Hindu religion in the Indus Valley Civilization was further developed and advanced by the Indo Aryans. -
175
The Spreading of Hinduism in the Vedic Period
In 1500 BCE the Indo Aryans of the Vedic Period began venturing out to areas near the Ganges and spreading early forms of Hinduism. -
200
Ascetic Reformism
In 500 BCE, due to the increase of urbanization in South Asia, many new movements and beliefs that challenged the rituals of Hinduism rose. A few impactful leaders of these movements were Buddha (left) and Vardhamana Jnatiputra. -
225
Hindu Synthesis
In 200 BCE Hindu Synthesis began. In this movement Hinduism synthesized many of Buddhism's and Jainism's beliefs and traditions with theirs. Hinduism had this time of synthesis due to the pressure and success of Buddhism and Jainism. -
320
The Golden Age
In 320, during the Hindu Golden Age power was the focus. Trade from South Asia to many other farther regions, spread the Hindu beliefs and cultures, while more and more Hindu temples began emerging. During this age more and more people began following the beliefs of Hinduism. -
500
Post Golden Age of Hinduism
Towards the end of The Golden Age, in 650, many large Hindu empires collapsed and many smaller kingdoms established. During these years religions competed for popularity. In some kingdoms Brahma replaced Buddha, while in some kingdoms Buddha replaced Brahma. -
Jan 1, 650
Medieval Period
During the Medieval Period in 600, many great temples were developed, such as Jagganatha in Puri in Orissa, the Shiva temple in Cidambaram in Tamilnadu, and the Shiva temple in Tanjavur. -
Jan 1, 1100
Islamic Rule
In 1100 there was a dramatic decrease in the number of Hindus and a dramatic increase in the number of Muslims. Islamic beliefs spread throughout Asia and many Muslim leaders destroyed Hindu temples. Any non-Muslims were persecuted. -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Colonial Impact on Hinduism
Europe began colonizing India in the 1500's and continued colonizing it until it's independence in 1947. Throughout the span of Europe's colonization in India many Hindu temples were destroyed and Christian churches took their places. This led to great amounts of conversion in India's population from Hinduism to Christianity. -
Hindu Renaissance
The colonization of India by the British started the Hindu Renaissance in the 1800's. This movement greatly changed the Hindu ways in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. During this movement Hindus shared their ways with Europeans and Europeans shared the Hindu ways with Americans. During this spreading of Hinduism the Europeans greatly influenced the religion by adding many beliefs of their own. -
Hinduism and India's Caste System
Strongly believed to have originated as a Hindu belief, the Caste System was used during the British rule over India in 1860. This Hindu system is a ranking system for the community. The system is divided into six parts: 1) Untouchables 2) Sudra 3) Vaishya 4) Kshatryia 5) Bhramin 6) Gods -
Resurgence of Hinduism
In 1875, when Ramakrishna, a famous mystic, began teaching Hinduism throughout India, a huge rise of Hinduism began. Due to his uprising, many other Hindu believers such as, Mahatma Gandhi, began influencing and inspiring under the beliefs of Hinduism. -
Spreading Hinduism in the 1900's
During the 1900's there were many great Hindus such as Ramana Maharshi (left), Paramahansa Yogananda, Prabhupada, Sri Chinmoy, and Swami Rama who translated and presented many Hindu text to large audiences throughout the world to gain more Hindu followers. -
Independent India
India's independence in 1947, led to the questioning of Hinduism's identity as an "Indian Religion" and if "India was a Hindu Country" anymore, due to all of the religious conflicts right before the country's independence. -
Expulsion of Indians from Uganda
In 1972, Uganda's president, Idi Amin (left), forced Indians to leave Uganda, in fear that his country would be overrun by Indians. Indians were forced to move either to the UK or back to India, therefore the Indians that chose to move to the UK also brought along Hinduism, introducing it to the British Empire. -
Hindu - Christian Conflict
Though the Hindu - Christian relationship was always rocky in India, due to the fact that when Europeans colonized India they destroyed over 200 Hindu temples and force converted many Hindus into Christianity, it was not until 2008 when a highly revered monk was murdered that the conflict became extreme. The Hindus accused a Christian group, who had already attempted many times before to kill the monk, of the murder. This led to many violent acts such as the destruction of churches and bibles. -
Modern Day Hinduism
Today, Hinduism is the worlds's 3rd largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Around 14% of the world's population follows Hinduism, which is about 9 million people. The country with the greatest number of Hindus is India, with about 830 million followers. Hinduism has also spread outside of Asia to many other countries, such as the U.S., currently with an estimate of 1.5 million Hindus. -
Extreme Expansion
As of 2012, there was an estimated number of 9000 Hindu temples in the whole world.
