Case Study: Sikhism

Sikhism

  • Founded by Guru Nanak about 500 years ago

  • Originated in the Punjab region now divided by India and Pakistan

  • 23 million adherents today

  • In the U.S. today, there are between 500,000 and 750,000 adherents

Hinduism and Islam

  • Some Hindus and Muslims sought to acknowledge commonalities between the religions.

  • Guru Nanak created a new monotheistic religion

  • They were critical of caste and religious imagery

  • The goal of religious life is liberation or merging with God

  • sikh is a disciple or learner

Sikhism is a convergence of two movements:

  • Bhakti devotionalism (from Hinduism)

  • Sufism – (from Islam)

  • Both traditions emphasize union with God and utilize practices such as singing, chanting and dancing

Sikhism in the United States:

Site Visit to Nishkam Seva Gurdwara Sahib - 4950 W Tonopah Dr, Glendale, AZ 85308.

 

During the 19th century through immigration, Sikhism started to appear and slowly grow in the United States. Desperate to escape the effects of British mercantilism on the Indian subcontinent, Sikhs immigrated to areas like California from ports in Hong Kong and would be employed within farms and other types of manual labor employment.

  • During World Wars I and II, the British would recruit Sikhs in India to serve in battle, thus prompting an increase in immigration to escape the risk of having to fight and die under British rule.

  • Over the course of the 20th Century, Sikhism in the U.S. spread from the West Coast to all over the country, with Sikhs establishing homes and citizenships while expanding their religious institutions.

  • Gurdwara: place of worship for Sikhism (first American Gurdwara in Stockton, California, 1912)

Post-9/11 Sikhism in America:

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Sikhs were subject to horrible discrimination associated with mistaken identity and Muslim prejudice. Sikhism dictates certain styles of dress and appearance that at first glance to many resemble Muslim attire, such as substantial beards and turban head coverings. Due to these similarities, Sikhs have become targets of mistreatment and hate crimes in the years following the destruction of the World Trade Center. 

Sikhism in America Today:

Sikh Presence in Philadelphia

Reading/Resources

Mandair, Arvind. "The Politics of Nonduality: Reassessing the Work of Transcendence in Modern Sikh Theology." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74, no. 3 (2006): 646-73. www.jstor.org/stable/4094003.

Prema Kurien. "Shifting U.S. Racial and Ethnic Identities and Sikh American Activism." RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 4, no. 5 (2018): 81-9. doi:10.7758/rsf.2018.4.5.04.