Hinduism in Five Minutes provides an accessible and lively introduction to common questions about the practices, ideas, and narratives commonly identified as Hindu. Suitable for beginning students and the general reader, the book offers more than 60 brief essays on a wide range of fascinating questions about Hinduism and its study, such as: How did Hinduism begin? How many gods / goddesses do Hindus worship? Why do some people refer to the Bhagavad Gita as the Hindu Bible? Why do Hindus have to be vegetarian? What is the role of women in Hindu rituals? What do Hindus believe? Why are Untouchables treated differently? Why do Hindus throw colors during Holi? Is yoga Hindu? What makes arranged marriage appealing to Hindus? Do you have to be Indian to be a Hindu? Each essay is written by a leading authority and offers succinct, insightful answers along with suggestions for further reading, making the book an ideal starting point for classroom use or personal browsing.Steven W. Ramey is a Professor in Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, where he also directs the Asian Studies Program. His specialty is in contemporary issues surrounding identifications in India, which he addresses in his book Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh (Palgrave 2008), where he analyzes specifically the practices and contested definitions of communities identified as Sindhi Hindus. He has extended this analysis to reflect on issues in the academic and public discourse surrounding the category religion and issues of identifications in the United States and other contexts.