The Brahmo Samaj approached inherited Hindu religion in a distinctly reformist and critical spirit, while still drawing from its scriptural wellsprings. It affirmed faith in a single, formless, supreme reality and therefore rejected idol worship, temple-centered image rituals, and the proliferation of deities as distortions of authentic spirituality. Traditional polytheism, anthropomorphic depictions of the divine, and elaborate ceremonialism were seen as obstacles to a more interior, ethical, and universal religiosity. In place of ritualism and priestly mediation, it emphasized direct communion with the divine grounded in moral life and inner devotion.

In matters of doctrine and scripture, the movement refused to treat any text as infallible simply by virtue of tradition. While it drew selectively upon the Upanishadic and early Vedantic heritage, it rejected the unquestioned authority of later scriptural layers such as the Puranas, as well as a literalist or dogmatic reading of sacred texts. Only those elements of the tradition that resonated with reason, ethical clarity, and monotheistic insight were accepted. This stance entailed a strong critique of superstition, blind faith, and hereditary priestly privilege, along with a rejection of Brahmanical supremacy and rigid orthodoxy.

The social vision of the Brahmo Samaj flowed naturally from this theological and philosophical reorientation. It condemned the caste system and its hierarchies as incompatible with the spiritual equality of all human beings before one God. Harmful customs such as child marriage, polygamy, enforced widowhood, and practices like sati were opposed as violations of human dignity, especially that of women. The movement thus sought not merely to adjust a few external observances, but to purify and rationalize religious life at its roots, presenting itself as a return to what it regarded as the original, monotheistic and ethical core of the Hindu tradition, opened up to universal truths beyond sectarian boundaries.