The Conceptual Foundation of Missionary Hinduism

This article considers the development of the idea of a universal and missionary Hinduism in the writing of Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda was the most vigorous proponent of ideas which had been taking shape throughout the nineteenth century. It is argued that the idea of Hinduism as a "missionary" religion came about as part of the conceptual evolution of religion and dharma which developed in the wake of contacts with Europeans. The process took place in three stages through which religion in India was first objectified, then individualized, and finally universalized. Bankimchandra Chatterji is the central person in the systematization of the three steps in this development, culminating in his promotion of Hinduism as a universal religion at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.