Hinduism in Réunion constitutes a significant part of the island's population. The island of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

is home to approximately 200,000

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n descendants amongst the roughly 800,000 strong population. Estimates of practicing Hindus vary from 10.7% to 14.7%. Yet, uncertainty as to the exact number of Hindus in the country results from the fact that ethnic and religious questions are forbidden in French censuses and members of the Indian population sometimes cross-identify with

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

faiths. The most recent arrivals of Tamil Hindus are from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and most came as refugees.

History

The history of Hinduism in Réunion stretches back to the mid and late nineteenth century. Many early Indian arrivals took on

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

s and had their children baptised in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

at the insistence of their employers or the government administration. Even so, they did not abandon Hinduism in the process. Christian missionaries argued that the custom of lighting camphor before the Hindu God was an illustration of black magic, whereas lighting candle in the Church was a sure way to salvation. With the exception of the Muslims who came to the island from

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, all Indians were routinely reassigned as Catholics, more or less by force. Most of the conversions to Christianity took place during the period of indenture.

Hinduism today

In recent years, there has been a revival of Hinduism among members of the Tamil community. This has led to the establishment of many temples and ashrams. Some Gurukkals (Temple priests) were also brought from Tamil Nadu as a part of this. Nonetheless, Dr Kalai Selvam Shanmugam, President of the Tamil Sangham in Reunion speaking at the Chennai Centre for Global Studies in 2018 regretted that some Temple priests brought from Tamil Nadu had been more interested in making money than in spreading the gospels of Hinduism. An interesting feature, likely peculiar to Réunion, is the simultaneous observance by some ethnic Indians of both Catholic and Hindu religion but in separate way, a practice that has earned them the sobriquet of being "public Catholic and privately Hindu." This is the cause during the period of indentures, where most Indian Hindus were reassigned as Catholics, more or less by force, but they wanted to keep their original religion in secret. The French government gathers no statistics on religious affiliation. Because of this, it is impossible to know accurately how many Hindus there are in Réunion. Most of the large towns have a functioning

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

References and notes

External links

Indentured immigration and social accommodation in La Réunion
by Christian Ghasarian, University of California-Berkeley {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinduism In Reunion Religion in Réunion

History

Hinduism today

References and notes

See also

External links