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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2. Causes of religious change
The religious composition of the global population is always in flux. For example, the share of Buddhists worldwide is shrinking because of their low average fertility rate, and Christians are declining in the U.S. and Western Europe as more people leave organized religion. Demographers attribute changes in the size of religious populations to three main […]
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Methodology
This section describes the sources and variables used for the analyses in this report. It explains known limitations of the data. Next, it outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the map used, as well as possible alternatives and reasons why data is shown as missing in some areas. Finally, the multilevel mixed-effects modeling used in […]
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3. Religious demography of Indian states and territories
As is the case in most countries, population density varies widely across India. The most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, recorded close to 200 million (20 crore) inhabitants in the 2011 census, while the southern archipelago of Lakshadweep had fewer than 100,000 (1,00,000 in India’s number system). Adherents of religious groups also are not evenly distributed […]
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Developing survey questions on sensitive topics in India
Asking balanced questions required investing considerable time and effort into developing and testing the questionnaire.
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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 […]
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2. Harassment of religious groups reaches new peak in 2019
The number of countries and territories where religious groups experienced harassment by governments and social groups reached 190 (out of 198 analyzed) in 2019, a higher number than in any other year of the study. This figure is up from 185 in 2018. The harassment measured in the study includes a wide variety of actions […]
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Key findings about religion in India
Our new survey of 29,999 Indian adults takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society.
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Globally, Social Hostilities Related to Religion Decline in 2019, While Government Restrictions Remain at Highest Levels
Social hostilities involving religion, including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center’s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.
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1. Changes in son preference, ultrasound use and fertility
Among Indians overall, sex selection during pregnancy is at least in part a result of a cultural preference for sons over daughters, which may be thought of as “son preference” or “daughter aversion,” or both. A preference for sons seems to be implied in the ancient Hindu epic “Mahabharata,” in which Gandhari is blessed to […]
