6 Historically, in the West, there has been very little exposure to Hinduism. 4,5 Every state in America has at least one Hindu temple, while larger metropolitan centers have many. According to the magazine Hinduism Today, there are about 2.3 million Hindus of Indian origin and another 1 million practicing American Hindus. Several estimates of the number of Hindus in America exist. 2 Hindus believe that while death is the end of this life, it is also the beginning of a new cycle.
1 Christians believe that death is the beginning of everlasting life with God. Humanists, which include atheists and agnostics, believe that death is the end. Spiritual beliefs ground our thinking about end-of-life concepts. How we approach death, how we think about suffering and grief, and what we believe happens after we die vary based on our culture, religion, and spiritual beliefs. No matter what our culture, our religion, our race, or our country of origin, we will all die.
