Religions in India
Religion in India ranks among the world's most ancient and varied. The
Indian subcontinent spawned the
Dharmic religions, which compose one of the world's three major schools of religion.
Vedic religion gave rise to what is now the oldest extant and
third-largest religion,
Hinduism; almost 900 million of its one billion adherents live in the
Republic of India.
The other major Dharmic religions, Buddhism,
Jainism, and
Sikhism, each have millions of Indian followers. The
Abrahamic religions of
Islam and
Christianity, spread by missionary activity and conquest over many centuries, are the two largest non-native religions.
More than four-fifths of Indians practice Hinduism. Islam, practised by around one-sixth of the population, is the most prevalent minority religion. Christianity and Sikhism are each practised by around 2% of Indians.
About 1.1% practise Buddhism and 0.4% practise Jainism.
Zoroastrianism and
Judaism have a centuries-long history in India; each has several thousand Indian adherents.
More than nine-tenths of Indians state that religion plays a key role in their lives.
Though inter-religious marriages are generally taboo, Indians are generally tolerant of other religions and retain a secular outlook. Inter-community clashes have never found widespread support in the social mainstream, and it is generally perceived that its causes are political rather than ideological in nature. India's religious diversity extends to the highest levels of government; the
Prime Minister of India is a Sikh, the
President of India is a Hindu, and the chairperson of the ruling
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a Christian. The
Constitution of India declares the nation to be a
secular republic that must uphold the right of citizens to freely worship and propagate any religion or faith.
Evidence attesting to
prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered
Mesolithic rock paintings depicting dances and rituals.
Neolithic pastoralists inhabiting the
Indus River Valley buried their dead in a manner suggestive of spiritual practices that incorporated notions of an afterlife and belief in magic.
Other
South Asian Stone Age sites, such as the
Bhimbetka rock shelters in central
Madhya Pradesh and the
Kupgal petroglyphs of eastern Karnataka, contain rock art portraying religious rites and evidence of possible ritualised music.
The
Harappan people of the
Indus Valley Civilisation, which lasted from 3300–1700 BCE and was centered around the
Indus and
Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys, may have worshiped an important
mother goddess symbolising fertility.
Excavations of Indus Valley Civilisation sites show seals with animals and "fire‑altars", indicating rituals associated with fire. A
linga-yoni of a type similar to that which is now worshiped by Hindus has also been found.
Hinduism's origins include cultural elements of the Indus Valley Civilisation, the
Vedic religion of the
Indo-Aryans, and other Indian civilisations. The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the
Rigveda, produced during the
Vedic period and dated to 1700–1100 BCE. During the Epic and
Puranic periods, the earliest versions of the epic poems
Ramayana and
Mahabharata were written roughly from 500–100 BCE,
although these were orally transmitted for centuries prior to this period.
After 200 CE, several schools of thought were formally codified in
Indian philosophy, including
Samkhya,
Yoga,
Nyaya, Vaisheshika,
Purva-Mimamsa and
Vedanta.
Hinduism, otherwise a highly theistic religion, hosted
atheistic schools; the thoroughly
materialistic and anti-religious philosophical
Carvaka school that originated in India around the 6th century BCE is probably the most explicitly atheistic school of Indian philosophy. Carvaka is classified as a
nastika ("heterodox") system; it is not included among the six schools of Hinduism generally regarded as orthodox. It is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.
Our understanding of Carvaka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and it is no longer a living tradition.
Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as atheistic include
Classical Samkhya and
Purva Mimamsa.
Buddhism and Jainism adapted elements of Hinduism into their beliefs. Jainism's founder,
Mahavira (599–527 BC, though possibly 549–477 BC), stressed five vows, including
ahimsa (non-violence) and
asteya (non-stealing). The historical
Gautama Buddha, who founded Buddhism, was born to the
Shakya clan just before
Magadha (which lasted from 546–324 BCE) rose to power. His family was native to the plains of
Lumbini, in what is now southern
Nepal. The Sakyas claimed to be avatars of
Vishnu.
Indian Buddhism peaked during the reign of
Asoka the Great of the
Mauryan Empire, who patronised
Buddhist teachings and unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. He sent missionaries abroad, allowing Buddhism to spread across Asia.
Indian Buddhism declined following the loss of royal patronage offered by the
Kushan Empire and such kingdoms as
Magadha and
Kosala.
The Jama Masjid in Delhi is one of the world's largest mosques.
Between 400 BCE and 1000 CE, Hinduism expanded as the
decline of Buddhism in India continued.
Buddhism subsequently became effectively extinct in India. Though Islam came to India in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders, it started to become a major religion during the
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. Islam's spread in India mostly took place under the
Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and the
Mughal Empire, greatly aided by the mystic
Sufi tradition. Although historical evidence suggests the presence of Christianity in India since the first century, it became popular following
European colonisation and
Protestant missionary efforts.
Communalism has played a key role in shaping the religious history of modern India.
British India was
partitioned along religious lines into two states—the Muslim-majority
Dominion of Pakistan (comprising what is now the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the
People's Republic of Bangladesh) and the Hindu-majority
Union of India (later the Republic of India). The 1947
Partition of India inaugurated rioting among Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in Punjab, Bengal, Delhi, and other parts of India; 500,000 died as a result of the violence. The twelve million refugees that moved between the newly founded nations of India and Pakistan composed one of the largest mass migrations in modern history.
Since its independence, India has periodically witnessed large-scale violence sparked by underlying tensions between sections of its majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities. The Republic of India is secular; though it is often considered a Hindu holy land (
punyabhumi), its government recognises no official religion. In recent decades, communal tensions and religion-based politics have become more prominent.
Themes of India, Religions in India
|
|
All rights reserved by Indian Tourism Info
