User:IdekoTo/Hinduism in the United States

Political Involvement
A Hindu Military Chaplaincy was launched in May 2011; Army Captain Pratima Dharm become the first Hindu to serve as a U.S. military chaplain.[63]

Tulsi Gabbard became the first-ever Hindu to be elected to the US Congress in 2012; she is a Hawaiian of Samoan and European descent, the daughter of a Roman Catholic father and a Hindu mother.[64] Later, in 2016 three more Hindus were elected to Congress: Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, and Ro Khanna (Rohit Khanna) all of Indian descent.[65] American Hindus are now the third-largest Religious Group in Congress with four members.[66] Among the lawmakers declining to state their religious affiliations were Indian-American Pramila Jayapal elected to the House of Representatives; since her mother is a Hindu, the Hindu American Foundation suggests that Jayapal is also Hindu.[67] In 2019 Padma Kuppa, an Indian politician from Troy Michigan joined the House of Representatives.

Activism
Several organizations have been made to combat discrimination against Hindus in the United States and make changes in the political scene. Some of these organizations include:
 * Hindus for Human Rights
 * Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus
 * CoHNA: Coalition of Hindus of North America

Western Influence
Hindu Americans as well as Hindu Immigrants can be seen adapting their practice and places of worship in accordance with the world around them. Hindu temples in the United States tend to house more than one deity corresponding with a different tradition, unlike those in India which tend to house deities from a single tradition. Not only has yoga entered the American vernacular, but its meaning has shifted. While Hindus in the United States may refer to the practice as a form of meditation that has different forms (i.e. karma yoga, bhakti yoga, kriya yoga), it is used in reference to the physical aspect of the word.