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Throughout India's history, religion has been an important part of the country's culture and the Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, namely, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, which are collectively known as native Indian religions or Dharmic religions and represent approx. 83% of the total popula...
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Christianity
- Sikhism
- Other
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Zoroastrianism
- Future Religious Trends
Approximately 1.2 billion people in the world currently practice Hinduism, with 95 percent living in India. Because of this high number, it is easily the most popular religion in the region, with roughly 79.8 percent of India’s total population self-identifying as Hindu. Experts have dated Hinduism as far back as 4,000 years. Even though many link ...
Not only is Islam the second-largest religion in the world with 1.8 billion followers, it is also the second most popular religion in India. Approximately 14.2 percent of its total population practice it. This is a significant drop from those devoted to Hinduism, but it still equates to roughly 172 million people. In fact, India has the third-large...
With roughly 2.3 billion followers, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. In India, it is the third most popular religion. Approximately 2.3 percent of its total population adheres to Christian beliefs. Similar to Islam, Christianity is a monotheistic religion, but God as an entity is considered to be built up of three components: the ...
Sikhismis the fifth most popular religion in the world, with approximately 25 million followers. While they make up only 1.7 percent of India’s total population, the country has the highest number of Sikhs anywhere. Roughly 77 percent of this 1.7 reside in Punjab, a state located in northern India. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sikhism originated in Punj...
Approximately 0.9 percent of India’s total population abides by a faith that does not appear on this list. Such religions include Judaism and the Bahá’í Faith. Despite its small following, Judaism was one of the first foreign religions in India. It is generally believed that the first Jews settled along the Malabar coast. They were a part of the Te...
With approximately 535 million followers, eight to ten percent of the world’s population identify as Buddhist. While Buddhismwas founded in India roughly 2,500 years ago, it has become more popular in other Asian countries like Cambodia and Thailand. Today, 0.7 percent of India’s total population adhere to Buddhist beliefs. Buddhism found its roots...
There are currently six million practicing Jains in the world. Roughly 4.5 of this six million live in India, making up 0.4 percent of the country’s overall population. Even though Jainismalways existed according to its official doctrine, experts have traced its beginnings back to the Indus Valley Civilization. In short, it is a religion based pure...
Zoroastrianismis considered one of the world’s oldest religions. Recent estimates claim that there are no more than 200,000 Zoroastrians left, with the majority living in Iran and India. Even so, they only make up roughly 0.1 percent of the latter’s overall population. The religion is named after the prophet Zoroaster, although it is unclear when e...
The vast majority of the world’s Hindus currently live in India. This is not expected to change anytime soon. In fact, its overall population is projected to grow, with 1.3 billion Hindus living in the country as of 2050, a number that is higher than the current number of Hindus living throughout the world. Over the next thirty years, the Muslim po...
- Nathaniel Whelan
Sep 21, 2021 · The analysis focuses on India’s three largest religious groups – Hindus, Muslims and Christians – and also covers Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains when suitable data is available. Population sizes over time come from India’s decennial census. The census has collected detailed information on India’s inhabitants, including on religion, since ...
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, [web 1][note 1] are also classified as Eastern religions.
Jun 29, 2021 · Most Indians believe in God and say religion is very important in their lives. Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists.
Sep 21, 2021 · This Pew Research Center study describes the religious makeup of India’s population, how it changed between 1951 and 2011, and the main causes of the change. The analysis focuses on India’s three largest religious groups – Hindus, Muslims and Christians – and also covers Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains when suitable data is available.
Oct 6, 2017 · Today, with more than 1 billion followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion worldwide, after Christianity and Islam. Roughly 94 percent of the world’s Hindus live in India.
