Editing Hindus (section)

=== Hindu identity amidst other Indian religions ===
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Scholars state that Hindu, Buddhist and Jain identities are retrospectively-introduced modern constructions.<ref name=leslie /> Inscriptional evidence from the 8th century onwards, in regions such as South India, suggests that medieval era India, at both elite and folk religious practices level, likely had a "shared religious culture",<ref name=leslie>Leslie Orr (2014), Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-535672-4}}, pages 25–26, 204</ref> and their collective identities were "multiple, layered and fuzzy".<ref name=leslieorr>Leslie Orr (2014), Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-535672-4}}, pages 42, 204</ref> Even among Hinduism denominations such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism, the Hindu identities, states Leslie Orr, lacked "firm definitions and clear boundaries".<ref name=leslieorr />

Overlaps in Jain-Hindu identities have included Jains worshipping Hindu deities, intermarriages between Jains and Hindus, and medieval era Jain temples featuring Hindu religious icons and sculpture.<ref>Paul Dundas (2002), The Jains, 2nd Edition, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-26605-5}}, pages 6–10</ref><ref>K Reddy (2011), Indian History, Tata McGraw Hill, {{ISBN|978-0-07-132923-1}}, page 93</ref><ref>Margaret Allen (1992), Ornament in Indian Architecture, University of Delaware Press, {{ISBN|978-0-87413-399-8}}, page 211</ref> Beyond India, on Java island of [[Indonesia]], historical records attest to marriages between Hindus and Buddhists, medieval era temple architecture and sculptures that simultaneously incorporate Hindu and Buddhist themes,<ref>Trudy King et al. (1996), Historic Places: Asia and Oceania, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1-884964-04-6}}, page 692</ref> where Hinduism and Buddhism merged and functioned as "two separate paths within one overall system", according to Ann Kenney and other scholars.<ref>Ann Kenney et al (2003), Worshiping Siva and Buddha: The Temple Art of East Java, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2779-3}}, pages 24–25</ref> Similarly, there is an organic relation of Sikhs to Hindus, states Zaehner, both in religious thought and their communities, and virtually all Sikhs' ancestors were Hindus.<ref name=robertzaehner /> Marriages between Sikhs and Hindus, particularly among ''Khatris'', were frequent.<ref name=robertzaehner /> Some Hindu families brought up a son as a Sikh, and some Hindus view Sikhism as a tradition within Hinduism, even though the Sikh faith is a distinct religion.<ref name=robertzaehner>Robert Zaehner (1997), Encyclopedia of the World's Religions, Barnes & Noble Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-7607-0712-8}}, page 409</ref>

Julius Lipner states that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs is a modern phenomena, but one that is a convenient abstraction.<ref name=lipner17>Julius J. Lipner (2009), Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-45677-7}}, pages 17–18</ref> Distinguishing Indian traditions is a fairly recent practice, states Lipner, and is the result of "not only Western preconceptions about the nature of religion in general and of religion in India in particular, but also with the political awareness that has arisen in India" in its people and a result of Western influence during its colonial history.<ref name=lipner17 />