Hinduism (or Sanatan Dharm) is the most difficult to understand by people (even Hindus themselves), since it cannot be bracketed or compared with other religions. There is no start date to Hinduism, nor a single founder, no Pope or Caliph (central religious figure), no central book (Gita is just one of many religious texts).Ok Sanatan Dharam then.
Let's not get into semantics.
All religions are ways of life for the pious adherents.
I never understood this way of life line.
Religion and personal faith is not a special dress that's worn only on special days when you visit someone or some place.
And you are talking about the concept of cultural nationalism here that remains limited to our soil and bloodlines of a period of hundreds a d thousands of years by residence.
A Christian German in Bremen cannot become a Hindu by living as one. Not by the strict Varana and bloodline paradigm of Vedic Hinduism at least.
No idea about pop Hinduism.
Cheers, Doc
Hinduism does not believe in conversion as it believes all paths lead to God. You continue following your path to God. Hindus have no desire to ask you to follow our path instead. If someone says Jesus is God, Hindus will say fine. Jesus is also a God, and so is Krishna.
Christian German in Bremen, if he follows a Hindu way of life and consider himself Hindu, is a Hindu. No rituals are needed. There are no codefied laws in Hinduism. Even an atheist can be a Hindu.