Namaste everyone,

So I am writing this thread because I have lately come out of my early 20's globalist inspired naivety whereas I thought all religions should be looked at purely from a standpoint of common principles (spiritual not religious philosophy, etc). I realized that in a world of religions taking advantage of one another (*cough* Christian fundamentalism *cough* Islamism *cough*) or simply peacefully and passively competing for space by existing, religious identity matters. There may be emptiness in words or names, but there is also great power in society. So, I am wondering what exactly I am.

I know this sounds like a strange realization for an adult to be having, but here is my background, and I will try to be brief. I was raised "spiritual but not religious" with two very left leaning parents of originally Christian descent in the USA. They introduced me to several Dharmic teachers including the Dalai Lama and Jon Kabat Zinn, and in college I began exploring both the writings of Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda, as well as eastern inspired/trained new age writers like Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle.

Since college, three things have happened: 1) I got engaged to my Hindu girlfriend/classmate of mine, who is from India, and have thought about how to best accommodate her background/ belief, 2) I have become more serious about Zen meditation classes and regularly attend the local zendo, and 3) I have read very extensively on the philosophy and history of EVERY religion in my spare time, but have focused on Dharmic traditions because they are in line with my beliefs. Although I know there is a large gap with regards to scripture, I find Vedanta and Buddhist ideals of "god" very similar in respect to non-duality and emptiness (at least to my understanding), and I derive much solace from these concepts. However, as I begin to become more serious about my zazen practice and simultaneously hear her describe how I will have to go through the thread tying ceremony before our wedding, I am beginning to wonder whether this makes absolutely perfect sense or if I am straddling two cultures unnecessarily and that I should turn my primary focus to Sanatana Dharma... This will, I suppose, matter extra because we plan to raise out child/children Hindu when we have them, and I worry about them being confused about the same thing.

So, from your standpoint,
-Does it make sense to continue to pursue zazen meditation/Buddha-Dharma while becoming more involved with the traditions and ceremonies of Hinduism?
-Would it make more sense to identify as a Buddhist or Hindu if people ask? Does it matter at all given that they are both Dharmic traditions anyways, and I have an open/scientific mind when it comes to philosophy. This point makes me a bit frustrated, because I don't feel that Buddha originally even consciously intended to make a separate religion entirely.

If it means anything, my wife to be is not very religiously involved herself (certainly less than I am), but does care a lot about Hindu traditions and stories, and maintaining them.