Diverse religious practices and beliefs this is what the religion of India is characterized. Four among the major religions in the world have started in India and these are Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. Throughout the history of India, one of the important parts in the culture of culture is the religion. As established by the customs and law of the country, diversity and tolerance of religions are playing an important part in the lives of people.
Religion in India Breakdown
In the census made in 2001, 80.5% out of the total population of the country are believers of Hinduism. On the other hand, Islam has 13.4% while 2.3% are practicing Christianity. 1.9% of the population believes in Sikhism, 0.8% is the number of Buddhists and Jainism has 0.4% believers. Aside from these religions, there are other minor tribal practices and traditions that are also practiced in different parts of the country.
Due to the existence of many religions in the country, the diversity in the beliefs of people when it comes to religion has evolved. Aside from the impact of major religions, the influence of conquerors, invaders, traders, immigrants and travelers has also affected the beliefs of people in the country. Along with the major religions, there are also other religions such as Judaism and Zoroastrianism have also left an impact with the diversity since these made significant impacts with the country’s ancient history.
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the major religions that majority of the Indians profess. Most of the Hindus can be found in 27 states excluding in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
Muslims
Those Muslims who are professing Islam can be found mostly in Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep. Muslims are residing in places like Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Christianity
The religion that has emerged in Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland, 3 of the Northeastern states, is Christianity. Other states having Christians are Goa, Manipur, Islands Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar and Arunachal Pradesh. These states have substantial percentage of Christians.
Sikhism
Meanwhile, Punjab is a place where people have a stronghold of Sikhism. There is about 75% of Sikhs that can be found in Punjab. Other important states that practice Sikhism are Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. Adding these states together would account for almost 90% of the Sikh population throughout country.
Buddhism
Buddhism believers have the largest concentration in Maharashtra, where over 70% the Buddhists are residing. Other states where some people practice Buddhism are Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh while Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram belong on the top 3 states having the maximum percentage of people who are following Buddhist beliefs.
Jain
As for those states that having a large Jain population, these states would include Rajsthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. When these states are accounted together almost 90% of the Jain population can be found within the country. Those residing other parts of the country are considered negligible especially when they are only in small groups or just residing in that place as individuals.
