Key facts about the religiously and demographically diverse states of India
To highlight some of India’s religious, cultural and demographic differences, here are key facts about its states.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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12. Beliefs about God
Nearly all Indians believe in God, with most saying they are absolutely certain in this belief. But the nature of the deities Indians believe in varies. While the majority of Hindus (61%) and Jains (54%) say there is “only one God with many manifestations,” most Muslims (66%), Christians (68%) and Sikhs (57%) say there is […]
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10. Religion and food
Several of India’s most widely practiced religions include strict dietary laws. For instance, Islamic teachings have guidelines for halal eating, forbidding the consumption of pork and other products. Many Jains avoid not only meat but also root vegetables to avoid destroying the entire plant, which is seen as a form of violence in Jain theology. […]
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Religious Composition of India
All major religious groups in India have shown sharp declines in their fertility rates, limiting change in the country’s religious composition since 1951. Meanwhile, fertility differences between India’s religious groups are generally much smaller than they used to be.
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Pastors Often Discussed Election, Pandemic and Racism in Fall of 2020
Among churches that posted their sermons, homilies or worship services online between Aug. 31 and Nov. 8, 2020, two-thirds posted at least one message from the pulpit mentioning the election. But discussion varied considerably among the four major Christian groups included in this analysis.
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Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation
Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be “truly Indian.”
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1. In 2019, decline in number of countries with ‘very high’ government restrictions, social hostilities involving religion
CORRECTION (Dec. 19, 2025): Two charts and some of the text in Chapter 1 have been corrected with updated SHI figures. Refer to the errata page for details. Countries with the most extensive government restrictions on religion Government restrictions on religion vary from country to country, and some countries have much higher scores on the Government Restrictions […]
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Muslims are a growing presence in U.S., but still face negative views from the public
The U.S. Muslim population has grown in the decades since 9/11, but views toward them have become increasingly polarized along political lines.
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In India, Hindu support for Modi’s party varies by region and is tied to beliefs about diet and language
Hindus were the religious group most likely to say they voted for the BJP in India’s most recent parliamentary election.
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1. Religious freedom, discrimination and communal relations
Indians generally see high levels of religious freedom in their country. Overwhelming majorities of people in each major religious group, as well as in the overall public, say they are “very free” to practice their religion. Smaller shares, though still majorities within each religious community, say people of other religions also are very free to […]