The caste system is integrally related to Hindu tradition and is cemented by the religious belief that higher caste individuals were more virtuous in past lives and thus deserving of higher status. Each of the five classes has its own role in society and duties towards the gods. It is not possible to change castes in one’s lifetime, but it is believed that by leading a pure life and completing the rituals and religious acts appropriate for one’s caste, a person can be reincarnated into a higher caste. This religious philosophy creates a greater justification for the existence of the caste system as well as a person’s position in it. Hindu traditional also legitimized the strict patriarchy of Indian society: women’s subordinance and impurity were divinely ordained. Women were merely a weak version of men, bound to serve the men in their lives, and unworthy of many facets of religious education and
The caste system is integrally related to Hindu tradition and is cemented by the religious belief that higher caste individuals were more virtuous in past lives and thus deserving of higher status. Each of the five classes has its own role in society and duties towards the gods. It is not possible to change castes in one’s lifetime, but it is believed that by leading a pure life and completing the rituals and religious acts appropriate for one’s caste, a person can be reincarnated into a higher caste. This religious philosophy creates a greater justification for the existence of the caste system as well as a person’s position in it. Hindu traditional also legitimized the strict patriarchy of Indian society: women’s subordinance and impurity were divinely ordained. Women were merely a weak version of men, bound to serve the men in their lives, and unworthy of many facets of religious education and