Religion in San Antonio

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Religion in San Antonio

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Sikhi in San Antonio

Sikhi Communities

According to Lakhpreet Kaur, in her San Antonio Report article titled “Have you met a Sikh in San Antonio?”, “In 1979…Dr. GP Singh became the first turbaned Sikh to move to San Antonio.” Sikhs had been in Texas since at least 1909 when, per Kaur, “Bishen Singh, an importer of herbs” came to Dallas. But over the next several decades, many Sikhs of the next generation began to spurn “wearing the turban or keeping a beard”. This is why it’s significant to identify Dr. Singh as “the first turbaned Sikh” since he was the first person who could be identified as Sikh through his appearance. (In other words, another Sikh could have lived in San Antonio but have been private about their religious views.)


Kaur notes that the lack of a local gurdwara led many Sikhs to travel back to places like California where there were more established Sikh communities, if for no other reason than to visit a gurdwara a few times a year. San Antonio wouldn’t have its first gurdwara until 2001 when the Sikh Center of San Antonio was established. Fourteen years later, the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio opened as the second location for Sikhs to meet.


One of the more fascinating parts of Kaur’s aforementioned article is that many Sikh men married Mexican or Mexican-American Catholic women in the earliest decades that Sikh men lived in Texas:


"By 1920, many Sikh men had married local Mexican or Mexican-American women. This pattern was partly due to perceived cultural similarities between Punjabis and Mexicans and there were many available Mexican women in El Paso, who recently arrived as refugees from the Mexican Revolution. It was also socially easier to marry Mexican women, since the two groups were often considered racially comparable. Furthermore, because of strict immigration laws, (making the immigration of non-whites into America illegal), many Sikh women were unable to make the trip to America to join their male relatives. It also made it impossible for single Sikh men to marry in India and bring their wives to the United States with them."


The result? “By 1930, a unique generation of culturally blended Sikh-Mexican Texans had emerged. While children generally followed the mother’s religion of Catholicism, their father’s Sikh heritage continued to influence the community for several generations.”

This exhibits the fuzziness of religious boundaries. Many people who want to imagine that there were clear lines between various religions hold views that don’t actually reflect the lived experience of many people. For these Sikh-Catholic families, this was something new where children grew up with a hybrid religious identity.


One of the more famous Sikhs in the United States was born and raised in San Antonio and educated at Trinity University: Dr. Simran Jeet Singh. Dr. Singh is a “visiting professor of history and religion at Union Theological Seminary and a Soros Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, and in 2020 TIME Magazine recognized him among sixteen people fighting for a more equal America.” The Wikipedia page on Dr. Singh lists many of his accomplishments, most of which have something to do with his efforts at combing scholarship and activism.


There are two locations in San Antonio where Sikhi is represented: 


The first is the Sikh Center of San Antonio, founded in 2001. This is the "oldest Gurdwara, Sikh house of worship, in San Antonio." It's located at 6011 Hollyhock Road, San Antonio, TX 78240.


The second is the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio, founded in 2015. It's located at 7914 Green Glen Dr., San Antonio, TX 78255.


The following articles discuss Sikhi in the San Antonio area:

  • Michelle Roberts, San Diego Union-Tribune, "1st Sikh in decades graduates Army officer school" (March 22, 2010)
  • Hernán Rozemberg, KPBS, "Hate Crimes In The Alamo City" (July 27, 2012)
  • GP Singh, MySA, "Being Sikhs in S.A. is not always easy" (August 10, 2012)
  • Mariajose Ramero, San Antonio Magazine, "Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab" (May 27, 2015)
  • Madalyn Mendoza, San Antonio Express, "San Antonio native's perfect response to Internet meme featuring Trinity athlete wearing turban" (December 9, 2015)
  • Alec Schreck, KSAT 12, "San Antonio police chief visits Sikh Center for community meal" (December 12, 2015)
  • MySA, "Sikh community in San Antonio building new temple" (March 31, 2016)
  • Lakhpreet Kaur, San Antonio Report, "Sikh Heritage Night at Spurs Game Showcases SA’s Cultural Diversity" (April 25, 2017)
  • Madalyn Mendoza, San Antonio Express, "Sikh San Antonio professor's mom had the perfect, viral response to racists" (December 7, 2017)
  • Zofeen Maqsood, The American Bazaar, "Sikhs in San Antonio feed federal workers who are without pay during shutdown" (January 15, 2019)
  • KSAT.com, "Sikh man makes US Airforce history in San Antonio" (September 27, 2019)
  • David Caltabiano, NEWS4SA, "Local Sikh community calls fallen deputy a hero" (September 28, 2019)
  • 1st Lt. Kayshel Trudell, Joint Base San Antonio News, "Air Force graduates first fully religiously accommodated Sikh Airman from Security Forces Apprentice Course" (October 3, 2019)
  • Texas Hill Country.com, "Texan Sikhs are Part of Your Community: Discover Their History in Texas" (Jan 15, 2020)
  • Nina Rangel, San Antonio Current, "San Antonio's Sikh Community Raises Nearly $250,000 for SA Food Bank" (April 27, 2020)
  • Michael Marks & Caroline Covington, Texas Standard, "‘That Was The Dream’: A Children’s Book Author Puts Sikh Character Front And Center" (September 7, 2020)
  • P.J. Randhawa, KENS 5, "What is Sikhism? Breaking down an often-stereotyped religion" (May 25, 2021)

Introduction to Sikhi

If you'd like a basic introduction to Sikhi/Sikhism, the following articles, videos, podcast episodes, and websites are a great place to start:


Articles/Websites

  • Pluralism.org, "Sikhism"
  • Patheos Library of World Religions and Faith Traditions, "Sikhism"
  • The Sikh Research Institute


Videos

  • Religion for Breakfast, "What is Sikhism?"
  • Let's Talk Religion, "What is Sikhism?"
  • Cogito, "What is Sikhism?"


Podcast Episodes

  • Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion, "Sick of Not Knowing About Sikhi"


Blog Posts about Sikhism:

  • "DocuSeries on Guru Nanak" (April 28, 2022)

Photos of Sikhism in San Antonio

The Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio

The Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio

Students from TMI Episcopal visiting the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio

Students from TMI Episcopal visiting the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio

Sikh music at the Dharamsal

Sikh music at the Dharamsal

Hardeep Raina provides a lesson on Sikhism for students from TMI Episcopal

Hardeep Raina provides a lesson on Sikhism for students from TMI Episcopal

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (1)

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (1)

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (2)

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (2)

Inside the gurdwara

Inside the gurdwara

Hardeep Raina discusses Sikhi with students from TMI Episcopal (1)

Hardeep Raina discusses Sikhi with students from TMI Episcopal (1)

Hardeep Raina discusses Sikhi with students from TMI Episcopal (2)

Hardeep Raina discusses Sikhi with students from TMI Episcopal (2)

Khivan Raina discussed Sikhi with his classmates from TMI Episcopal

Khivan Raina discussed Sikhi with his classmates from TMI Episcopal

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (3)

A langar at the Sikh Dharamsal (3)

A night photo of the second group of TMI students visiting the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio

A night photo of the second group of TMI students visiting the Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio 

The Sikh Center of San Antonio (1)

The Sikh Center of San Antonio (1)

The Sikh Center of San Antonio (2)

The Sikh Center of San Antonio (2)

Religion in San Antonio

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