Religion
Newars follow both Hinduism and Buddhism. Buddhism as practiced in the Kathmandu Valley (Newar Buddhism) and Theravada Buddhism which made a comeback in the 1920s are the common forms of Buddhism.
According to the 2001 Nepal Census, 84.13% of the Newars were Hindu-Buddhist and 15.31% were purely Buddhist. These days Christianity, Islam, Om Shanti and many other religions are also followed.
Out of the three main cities of the Kathmandu Valley which are historically Newar, Patan is the most Buddhist containing the four stupas built by Indian emperor Ashoka, Bhaktapur is primarily Hindu while Kathmandu is a mix of both. Generally, both Hindu and Buddhist deities are worshipped and festivals are celebrated by both religious groups. However, for ritual activities, Hindu and Buddhist Newars have their own priests and cultural differences.
Read more about this topic: Newa People
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“When Religion and Royalty are swept away, the people will attack the great, and after the great, they will fall upon the rich.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one’s soul; when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.”
—Josephine Baker (1906–1975)
“I read ... an article by a highly educated man wherein he told with what conscientious pains he had brought up all his children to be skeptical of everything, never to believe anything in life or religion or their own feelings without submitting it to many rational doubts, to have a persistent, thoroughly skeptical, doubting attitude toward everything.... I think he might as well have taken them out in the backyard and killed them with an ax.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)