Hinduism as a religion is portrayed through Apu, a renowned Indian convenience store operator. The character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appears in the comedy for the first time in the 8th episode of season 1. Apu works behind the counter at kwik-e-mart and is presented as a brown-skinned middle-aged man with a heavy Indian accent. The Simpsons family often goes to the store for their household needs. Apu stands out in the series due to his differing ethnic background and thus his religious affiliation does not require “coming out”. His Hindu religious identity is tied to his ethnic background. 
There are numerous ways that Hinduism is portrayed in the series, such as talks about gods of the Hindu pantheon, karma, gurus and other sacred characters such as the Ganges. 
In the episode, “Homer the Heretic” Apu’s religious identity is confirmed as being Hindu when Homer upon skipping church service and heads to the store for shopping and finds Apu, where they have a conversation as follows:
Homer: Apu I see you’re not in church. 
Apu: Oh, but I am, I have a shrine to Ganesh the god of worldly wisdom located in the employee lounge. 
In this conversation, it is clear that Apu is a Hindu despite the fact that the words Hindu has not been expressly highlighted. He, however, has a shrine of the elephant-headed deity –Ganesh.