Religions in India

In India, it is “Unity in Diversity”.

There are various languages, traditions, festivals, religions here. In India there are many religions i.e.- Hindu, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Budhdhism, Jainism etc. There are 80% Hindus, 14% Muslims, 2.4% Christians, 2% Sikhs, 0.7% Budhdhists, 0.5% Jains, 0.4% others

India known as the land of spirituality and philosophy, was the birthplace of many religions, which even exist today in the world.

Hinduism is the ‘Sanatan Dharma’. It exists from the ages of the mankind. It is the majority religion in the country. Around 500 BC two other religions developed in India, namely, Buddhism and Jainism. Today only about 0.5% of Indians are Jains and about 0.7% are Buddhist. In ancient times Jainism and specially Buddhism were very popular in India. Indians who accepted Buddhist philosophy spread it not only within the Indian sub-continent but also to kingdoms east and south of India.

Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism- these three ancient religions are seen as the molders of the India philosophy.

In 'modern' period new religions were also established in India. One comparatively new religion in India is Sikhism. It was established in the 15th century. About 2% of Indians are Sikhs. There is Bahai religion also in India, especially around the Northern part. There were other attempts to create new religions in India but they did not always succeed. For example, a Mogul emperor, Akbar who reigned between 1556 - 1605, tried to establish a new religion, Din- E- Elahi, but it did not survive. There are other religious philosophies whose believers see themselves as a separate religion, but they do not always get this recognition. For example- Lingayat community of South India see themselves as a different religion, while others see them as a sect of Hinduism. There are also some tribal communities who demand to be recognized as separate religion from Hinduism. In the 19th century some Hindu reformers tried to remodel Hinduism to adjust it to modern period.

Along with the religions that developed in India, there are followers of non- Indian religions. The largest non-Indian religion is Islam. They are about 14% of India's population. Christians are more then 2% of India's population. There are also Zoroastrians who even though make less then 0.01% of India's population, are known around India. There are also a few thousand Jews in India. It is believed that Judaism and Christianity might have arrived in India before arrived in Europe. 

India is a secular country, respects all religions and gives equal rights to the people of all religions.