Yet, there has never been a unified or singular Hinduism in America. Rather, the story of Hinduisms in America provides an important example for the ways a religious tradition is imagined in America. In the 18th and 19th century, Americans described religion in India as ‘heathenism’, ‘Hindoo religion’, ‘Hindu religion’, and ‘Brahmanism’. By the end of the 19th century, figures like Swami Vivekanada brought the idea of ‘Hinduism’, a world religion, to America. In the 20th century, Hindu immigrants from South Asia began to build temples and practice their own forms of Hinduism throughout the United States.

中文翻译：

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美国印度教的建构

但是，在美国，从来没有统一或单一的印度教。相反，美国印度教的故事为美国对宗教传统的想象方式提供了重要的例子。在18世纪和19世纪，美国人将印度的宗教形容为“异教信仰”，“兴都教”，“印度教”和“婆罗门教”。到19世纪末，像斯瓦米·维维卡纳达（Swami Vivekanada）这样的人物将世界宗教“印度教”的思想带到了美国。在20世纪，来自南亚的印度教移民开始在美国各地建造寺庙并实行自己的印度教形式。