Houston University defends its Hinduism course

An Indian-American has accused that a course on Hindu religion offered by the University of Houston distorts Hinduism and promotes “Hinduphobia", prompting the varsity to defend the course's integrity and emphasise its scholarly approach to studying the religion. Vasant Bhatt, a political science major at the university, filed a formal complaint with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, alleging that the "Lived Hindu Religion" course misrepresents Hinduism as a political tool used by Hindu nationalists. In response to a student's allegation, the University of Houston said terms like "Hindutva" and "fundamentalism" were used analytically and not to criticise the religion itself.

Controversy over Hinduism course at the University of Houston | The University of Houston (UH) values academic freedom, which includes allowing faculty to explore complex and sometimes challenging topics in their teaching. While UH does not typically review individual lectures,… pic.twitter.com/y8MAAOU0ye

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In a statement, the university explained that in religious studies, fundamentalism refers to a movement that claims to preserve the 'true' or original version of a religion, asserting a strict, ahistorical, literal interpretation of scripture, dogmas or ideologies, often in reaction to modern changes. It also said that studying fundamentalism is not an act of judgment or bias but a way to understand how religions evolve and identify through discourse analysis. "The course applies academic frameworks to analyze how Hinduism, the religion of those who revere Hindu gods, like other world religions, has developed in historical, social and political contexts. Professors are encouraged to connect course content to current events when appropriate, as long as it is done in a balanced way that improves understanding of course content. For example, discussing the political rise of Hindu nationalism in India is part of understanding how religion and religious discourse function in the modern world, but it is not a critique of Hinduism as a whole," the university added.