Religion in India

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India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of the country and most of its people.

The faith of more than 80.4% of the people is Hinduism, considered the world's oldest religious and philosophical system. Islam is practiced by around 13.4% of all Indians.

Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are Indian-born religious systems that are strong and influential not only in India but across the world. Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith are also influential but their numbers are smaller (except for Christianity).

Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, atheism and agnostics are also visible influences.

Contents 1 Statistics 2 Hinduism 3 Ayyavazhi 4 Ahmadiyya 5 Buddhism 6 Jainism 7 Christianity 8 Islam 9 Zoroastrianism 10 Sikhism 11 Judaism 12 Bahá'í Faith 13 Atheism and agnosticism 14 Tribal religions 15 Citations 16 External links

[edit] Statistics

Religions of India

Religion	Persons	Percent
All Religions	1,028,610,328	100.00%
Hindus	827,578,868	80.46%
Muslims	138,188,240	13.43%
Christians	24,080,016	2.34%
Sikhs	19,215,730	1.87%
Buddhists	7,955,207	0.77%
Jains	4,225,053	0.41%
Others	6,639,626	0.65%
Religion not stated	727,588	0.07%

Source: Census of India, 2001

[edit] Hinduism

A Jain temple in Kochi

The Nasrani Menorah, the symbol of the Knanaya community in South India.

The Jama Masjid, Delhi is one of the largest mosques in the world.

The Harimandir Sahib, known popularly as the Golden Temple, is a sacred shrine for Sikhs.

The old Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi

Main article: Hinduism in India

The adherents of Hinduism form the largest religious community in India, numbering approximately 900 million and comprising 80.5% of the population. About 50 million Hindus of Indian origin are living abroad (notably the Malaysia, USA, Fiji, Mauritius, UK and South Africa). Hinduism in India has a long and varied history. Indeed, India is the birth-place of Hinduism and the history of Hinduism is as old as that of India herself. Hinduism is a set of practices of the people of India. The word Hindu is derived from the word Sindhu and signifies a person coming from the land of the river Sindhu^ǂ (i.e., India). Hinduism has origins of around 2500 BCE. Modern Hinduism has taken the form of a religion due to other religious influences. However, it is known as a "way of life" rather than a religion. It differs from other religions by the fact that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization.

Despite attacks and invasions by various Arab and Afghan empires during and after the 7^th century CE, Hinduism has survived. The reason is said to be the in-built tolerance and inclusiveness in Hinduism. The main holy books of Hinduism are the Vedas.

Further information: Hinduism,  Hindu,  Srauta, and Historical Vedic religion

[edit] Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi is a religion originated in south India in the 19th century.^[1] Officially, in India, it is considered as an offshoot section of Hinduism and as a Hindu sect.^[2] It's followers were included as Hindus while doing census.

Though it has not received official recognition, it has transformed itself into a distinctive and recognisable religious phenomenon, making its presence felt in India's southern parts, even during the early 1840s.^[3] It has more than 8000 worship centers^[4] throughout India,^[5] mostly in South India and highly populated in the Southern parts of Tamil Nadu and south Kerala^[6]. Though it shares many ideas, mythology, theology etc. with Hinduism, it regenerates many of them and have given new and distinct definitions of its own from that of Hindu.

Moreover this religion has separate Holy Places, separate worship centers and also separate religious head quarters though not officially organized.

[edit] Ahmadiyya

Main article: Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya is a relatively small messianic movement founded in 1899 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.[1] The majority of Ahmadis live in northern India, although many are found in New Delhi, Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh. There are approximately one million Ahmadis in India.

[edit] Buddhism

Further information: Buddhism in India,  History of Buddhism in India,  Decline of Buddhism in India, and Dalit Buddhist movement

Buddhism, known in ancient India as Buddha Dharma, originated in northern India in what is today the state of Bihar. It rapidly gained adherents during the Buddha's lifetime. It was also the religion of the rich and the upper classes and hence Up to the 9th century, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands only compared to other religions which numbered in millions. While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India is disputed, it is known that the mingling of Hindu and Buddhist societies in India and the rise of Hindu Vedanta movements began to compete against Buddhism. Many believe that Hinduism's adaptation to Buddhism resulted in Buddhism's rapid decline. Also, Muslim invaders are recorded to have caused massive devastation on monasteries, libraries, and statuary, as they did on Hindu religious life. Many Indian Buddhist populations remained intact in or migrated to places like Sri Lanka, Tibet, and other Asian countries. The loss of main centres of pilgrimage and supplanting the upper class by new islamic upper class caused the decline of Buddhism in India.

In 1956, B. R. Ambedkar(regarded as the father of Indian constitution), and thousands of his followers converted to Buddhism in protest against the caste system. Subsequent mass conversions on a lesser scale have occurred since then. Three-quarters of these Indian Buddhists live in Maharashtra. Buddhists form majority population in the Indian states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir, a small number of tribal peoples in the region of Bengal, and Tibetan refugees. Today around 8 million Buddhists live in India.

[edit] Jainism

Jainism, along with Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, is one of the four major Dharmic religions originating in India. In general, Jains are extremely well-represented despite comprising only 0.4% (around 4.2 million) of India's total population. Many of India's Jains are affluent, and almost all are well off. As such, it can be said that they hold power and wealth disproportionate to their small population. According to the India Census 2001, Jains have the highest literacy rate (In respect to religious affiliation) of 94.1% compared to the national average of 64.8%.

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Christianity in India

Christianity, according to tradition arrived in India in the first century (c.52-85AD) through the apostle Thomas. The chronicle of his mission in India is recorded in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and the lesser-known Apocalypse of Thomas. In these books, Judas Thomas is regarded as the "Twin" of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, alleging that since this Thomas was identical in look to Christ, he was equal in piety. The apostle completed the conversion of a Malabar prince, and founded a church on the prince's grounds. According to the Gospel of Thomas, he later was buried in the foundation of that building, located by tradition near Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

Christianity was later consolidated in India, by the arrival of Syriac Jewish-Christians now known as Knanaya people in the second century A.D. This ancient ethnic Christian community of Kerala is known as Nasrani or Syrian Christian. The Nasrani people and especially the Knanaya people within the Nasranis have strong Jewish historical ties. Their form of Christianity is one of the most ancient: Syriac Christianity which is also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and referred to in India as Saint Thomas Christians. It should be noted that the term "Saint Thomas Christians" is a loose term that many non-Nasranis Christians in Kerala are often labelled.

Roman Catholicism reached India during the period of European colonization, which began in 1498 when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived on the Malabar coast. There are over 17 million Catholics in India, which represents 1.5% of the total population. Christian missionary activity increased in the early 1800s. Today Christianity is the third largest religion of India making up 2 - 2.9% of the population. Christianity is prevalent in South & North-east India. Christians make up majority population in the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. All these states are tribal and have extremely low population when compared to the larger states in India.

[edit] Islam

Main article: Islam in India

Islam arrived in India as early as the 8th century A.D. During the following decades, Islam contributed greatly to the cultural enhancement of an already rich Indian culture, shaping not only the shape of Northern Indian classical music (Hindustani, a melding of Indian and Middle Eastern elements) but encouraging a grand tradition of Urdu (a melding of Hindi, Arabic and Persian languages) literature both religious and secular. Among other monuments, the Taj Mahal is a gift of the Mughals. As of 2001, there are about 160 million Muslims in India who are scattered throughout the country, with the highest concentrations being in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and parts of the Gangetic plain. Uttar Pradesh in the Gangetic plain has the highest population of Muslims in one state. Muslims make up majority population in the states of Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshwadeep Islands. India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. There are about 75 sects of Islam followed in India. Sunnis form the majority of Islam in India. Shia follows next. Sufism is also followed by many people in India. Majority of the Sufis in India are in Kashmir.

[edit] Zoroastrianism

Main article: Parsis, the Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent.

Subsequent to the fall of the Persian Empire, after which Zoroastrianism was gradually supplanted by Islam, many Zoroastrians fled to other regions in the hope of preserving their religious tradition. Among them were several groups who migrated to Gujarat, on the western shores of the Indian subcontinent, where they finally settled. The descendants of those refugees are today known as the Parsis.

In contrast to their co-religionists elsewhere, in India the Zoroastrians enjoyed tolerance and even admiration from other religious communities. From the 19th century onward, the Parsis gained a reputation for their education and widespread influence in all aspects of society, partly due to the divisive strategy of British colonialism which favored certain minorities. As such, Parsis are generally more affluent than other Indians and are stereotypically viewed as among the most Anglicised and "Westernised" of Indian minority groups. They have also played an instrumental role in the economic development of the country over many decades; several of the best-known business conglomerates of India are run by Parsi-Zoroastrians, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families.

As of the census of 2001, the Parsis represent approximately 0.06% of the total population of India, with a concentration in and around the city of Mumbai (previously known as Bombay). Due to a low birth rate and high rate of immigration, demographic trends project that by the year 2020 the Parsis will number only 230,000 or 0.002% of the total population of India. The Parsis will then cease to be called a community and will be labelled a 'tribe'.

[edit] Sikhism

Sikhism, was founded in India's northwestern Punjab region about 400 years ago and Sikhs form the majority population in the state of Punjab. As of 2001 there were 19.3 million Sikhs in India. Many of today's Sikhs are situated in Punjab, the largest Sikh province in the world and the ancestral home of Sikhs. There are also significant populations of Sikhs in the neighboring states of Haryana and New Delhi. The most famous Sikh temple is the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar, Punjab. Many Sikhs serve in the Indian Army. The current prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is a Sikh. Punjab is the spiritual home of Sikhs and is the only state in India where Sikhs form a majority.

[edit] Judaism

Main article: Jews in India

Trade contacts between the Mediterranean region and the west coast of India probably led to the presence of small Jewish settlements in India as long ago as the early first millennium B.C. In Kerala a community of Jews tracing its origin to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 has remained associated with the cities of Kodungallur (formerly known as Cranganore) and Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) for at least 1,000 years. The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, rebuilt in 1568, is in the architectural style of Kerala but preserves the ritual style of the Sephardic rite, with Babylonian and Yemenite influence as well. The Jews of Kochi, concentrated mostly in the old "Jew Town," were completely integrated into local culture, speaking Malayalam and taking local names while preserving their knowledge of Hebrew and contacts with Southwest Asia. A separate community of Jews, called the Bene Israel, had lived along the Konkan Coast in and around Bombay, Pune, and Ahmadabad for almost 2,000 years. Unlike the Kochi Jews, they became a village-based society and maintained little contact with other Jewish communities. They always remained within the Orthodox Jewish fold, practising the Sephardi rite without rabbis, with the synagogue as the centre of religious and cultural life. Following trade routes established by the expansion of the British Empire, a third group of Jews, the Baghdadi Jews immigrated to India, settling primarily in Bombay and Calcutta. Many of the Baghdadi traders became wealthy and participated prominently in the economic leadership of these growing cities. As a result of religious pressure elsewhere, including the forced conversions of Mashhad (see Muslim Jew), their numbers were increased by religious refugees. The Baghdadis came mostly from the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Afghanistan.

The population of the Kochi Jews, always small, had decreased from 5,000 in 1951 to about fifty in the early 1990s. During the same period, the Bene Israel decreased from about 20,000 to 5,000, while the Baghdadi Jews declined from 5,000 to 250. Emigration to Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and North America accounts for most of this decline. According to the 1981 Indian census, there were 5,618 Jews in India, down from 5,825 in 1971. The 1991 census showed a further decline to 5,271, most of whom lived in Maharashtra and Kerala.

The Knanaya and Nasrani Christian groups also have strong historical ties to Judaism.

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

Main article: Bahá'ís in India

About 2.2 million people in India follow the religion Bahaism. They are the largest community of Bahai's in the world. The Lotus Temple in New Delhi is the main symbol of Bahai's in India. Lotus temple is their worship place. Bahai's are spread all over India and have recently increased in number.

http://www.bahaindia.org/

[edit] Atheism and agnosticism

India is also home to a considerable number of atheists and agnostics. Bhagat Singh, one of India's prominent freedom fighters, was an atheist.

[edit] Tribal religions

There are various tribal religions in India followed by many people. Generally the number is either really small or the people are found in the remotest area thus they are overlooked while doing census. But there lots of tribal religions in India. Donyi-Polo and Rangfrah are some of them. These religions are mainly followed in Arunachal pradesh. Other tribal religions are followed by tribals all over India and mainly in Eastern and Northeastern India. Animism are also followed by many tribes in South India and Bihar.

[edit] Citations