Conclusion: “Ask Her. She Worships”—Hopes for This Book and Future Research

This chapter briefly surveys the major claims of this book, namely the central claim that Hindu women’s domestic shrine traditions are a valuable form of reproductive labor essential to the sustenance and articulation of Hindu subjectivities and traditions, and that Hindu women are, therefore, religious authorities in their own right. Moreover, it presents hopes for the impact of this book, namely that scholars of religion will recognize other shrine traditions and domestic worship as forms of reproductive labor, and recognize forms of reproductive labor, like cooking and healing practices, as religious labor. Finally, it presents questions and topics that the book could not answer, and which I hope future research can explore, more particularly, the dialogical relationship between Hindu women’s domestic shrine traditions and the public Hindu temple in the United States.