India is a diverse country in terms of religion, culture, traditions and beliefs. Indians worship many gods and goddesses and have several festivals dedicated to the birth, death or incidents that transpired in the lives of those divine deities. India is believed to be the birth place of – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, the most prevalent religions in the country. All the segments and divisions present in India have faith and beliefs in one or the other God based on their cults and religions. There are temples, churches, mosques and other places of worship in nearly every city, town, and even the rural areas of India depending on the population of a particular religion in that area.
The Hindu population in India is 80.5% being the most predominant religion, followed by Islam – 13.4%, Christianity – 2.3%, Sikhism – 1.9%, Buddhism – 0.8% and finally Jainism – 0.4%, respectively.
Hinduism is the most widespread religion of India, with thousands of gods and goddesses, usually referred to as “Devi” for goddesses and “Deva” or “Devta” for gods. Idol worship of these deities is a prevalent factor of Hinduism.
Hindus believe that there is only one god – Para-Brahma, or Vishnu and all the other gods and goddesses are His manifestations. Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva are the three superior Gods referred to as Trimurti, Vishnu – the creator of the universe and all its beings, Brahma – the preserver, and Shiva - the destroyer. Para-Shakti in Hinduism denotes a power of Para-Brahma and this is represented by goddesses in Hinduism based on their superiority – Lakshmi, Parvati, Durga are all manifestations of Parashakti.
Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism are all said to be born from Hinduism, but follow a different set of beliefs and rituals than Hinduism.
Islam is based on the teachings of Prophet Mohammad, who heard whispers and received vibrations from God. Whatever messages the Prophet received from Allah, is recorded in the Hadith and this forms the basis of Islam. Quran – the holy book of Islam is believed to be the final and ultimate version of Allah’s words as reciprocated by Mohammad. There is no idol worship in Islam and mosques are their worship places.
Christianity in India is believed to be introduced by Thomas the Apostle, who visited Kerala in 52 CE and baptized the Jewish settlement, known as Saint Thomas Christians. Christianity has been in India since the early 3rd century AD and Roman Catholicism, Oriental Orthodox and Protestants are all present in India.
Prophets & Saints