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Home Research Topics Religion Religions Hinduism
Pew Research CenterJune 22, 2021
Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation

Indian Muslims are as religious as Muslims in neighboring countries, but fewer say there is just one correct way to interpret Islam

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Indian Muslims are as religious as Muslims in neighboring countries, but fewer say there is just one correct way to interpret Islam

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Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation
India is majority Hindu, but religious minorities have sizable populations
Indians feel they have religious freedom, see respecting all religions as a core value
India’s religious groups generally see themselves as very different from each other
Stopping religious intermarriage is a high priority for Hindus, Muslims and others in India
Substantial minorities would not accept followers of other religions as neighbors
Most Hindus in India say being Hindu, being able to speak Hindi are very important to be ‘truly’ Indian
Support for BJP higher among Hindu voters who link being Hindu, speaking Hindi with Indian identity
Among Hindus, large regional divides on views of national identity and politics
How regions of India are defined in this report
Among Hindu voters in India, religious nationalism is accompanied by heightened desire for religious segregation, greater religious observance
Hindus who see Hindu and Indian identity as closely tied express positive views about diversity
Vast majority of India’s Muslims say Indian culture is superior
Overall, one-in-five Muslims say they have personally faced religious discrimination recently, but views vary by region
Muslims in India support having access to their own religious courts
More Muslims than Hindus in India see partition of the subcontinent as a bad thing for communal relations
Most Indians say they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class
Relatively few in India see widespread caste discrimination; perceptions vary by region
In the South and Northeast, many Dalits say they have faced caste discrimination
Most Indians say it is very important to stop people from marrying outside their caste
Religious groups show little change in size due to conversion
Hindus gain as many people as they lose through religious switching
Vast majority of Hindu converts to Christianity in India are concentrated in South
Most Indians have a strong connection to their religion
Indians say life’s milestones should be marked by religious ceremonies
One-third of Indian Buddhists do not believe in God
In India, most Hindus and some members of other groups say there is one God with many manifestations
More Hindus feel close to Shiva than any other deity
Indians show high levels of religious observance across socioeconomic levels
Overwhelming shares say religion was very important to their family growing up and is to them personally now
Respecting elders a key shared religious, national value in India
Some religious beliefs and practices shared across religious groups in India
Indians of many religions celebrate Diwali
India’s Hindus mostly say a person cannot be Hindu if they eat beef, celebrate Eid
In India, Hindus’ views toward beef consumption linked with attitudes toward segregation, nationalism
Indian Muslims more likely to say eating pork is incompatible with Islam than not believing in God
Indian Muslims are as religious as Muslims in neighboring countries, but fewer say there is just one correct way to interpret Islam
Overall, Indian Muslims’ level of belief in heaven, angels resembles Indian Hindus more than other Muslims in South Asia
Most Indian Muslims oppose triple talaq
Vast majority of Sikh adults in India say they keep their hair long
India’s Sikhs are nearly universally proud of their national, state identities
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Who We Surveyed in India

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