What is Hinduism?  Hinduism Today  Hinduism is the third largest
religion in the world today with about 800 million adherents. 
The only two larger religions are Christianity (2 billion
adherents) and Islam (1.3 billion adherents).  Hinduism is
predominant in India with 82% of the population being Hindu. 
There are also large numbers of Hindus in various other
countries with the following percentages: Bangladesh (11%),
Bhutan (25%), Fiji (41%), Mauritius (50%), Nepal (89%), Sri
Lanka (15%), Surinam (27%), and Trinidad (25%).1 Hinduism's
influence exceeds well beyond 13% of the world's population due
to its influence on various other religions such as Buddhism,
Jainism, Sikhism, the New Age movement, and various other
religious influences in the West.  Interestingly, there are over
one million Hindus in North America.  The Origins of Hinduism
Hinduism does not have an individual founder.  Its origins can
be traced to around 1500 B.C. in what is now known as India.  It
originally was a polytheistic and rituali