Religion

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Karmayogi

Religion

Religion in India is a way of life. Though Hinduism is the dominant religion, Indians have learned to co-exist with people of other faiths. The ancient shlokas of the Hindu prayers, the aazaans of the Muslim prayers, the gurvani of the Sikhs, chanting of the Buddhist monks fill the skies simultaneously.

About 80 percent of the Indian people are Hindus, about 14 percent are Muslims. The next largest religious groups, are Christians (2.4%), Sikhs (2%), Buddhists (0.7%), Jains (0.5%) and the rest are Parsis and Jews.

Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas
Source: 2003 Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year

Religion	World numbers
Christians Muslims Hindus Non-religious Chinese folk religionists Buddhists Ethnic religionists Atheists New-Religionists Sikhs Jews Spiritists Baha'is Confucianists Jains Shintoists Taoists Zoroastrians Other religionists	2,038,905,000 1,226,403,000 828,130,000 774,615,000 389,543,000 364,014,000 231,708,000 150,434,000 103,249,000 23,821,000 14,535,000 12,601,000 7,107,000 6,327,000 4,345,000 2,703,000 2,685,000 2,659,000 1,096,000

Note: Religions marked in bold, originated in India

Religion plays a vital role in the Indian way of life. Religious laws of the Hindus and Muslims govern the people's clothing, food, and marriage. They also strongly influence the type of occupation among persons who strictly follow the laws. Violence between Hindus and Muslims led to the division of India into three nations, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Fast Facts:
- India is the largest secular country in the world.

- Hinduism
- Islam
- Christianity
- Sikhism
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Zorastrianism
- Judaism