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Religions in India
India known as the land of spirituality and philosophy, was the birthplace of
some religions, which even exist today in the world.
The most dominant religion in India today is Hinduism. About 80% of Indians are
Hindus. Hinduism is a colorful religion with a vast gallery of Gods and
Goddesses. Hinduism is one of the ancient religions in the world. It is supposed
to have developed about 5000 years ago. Later on in ancient period other
religions developed in India.
Around 500 BC two other religions developed in India, namely, Buddhism and
Jainism. Today only about 0.5% of Indians are Jains and about 0.7% are Buddhist.
In ancient times Jainism and specially Buddhism were very popular in India.
Indians who accepted Buddhist philosophy spread it not only within the Indian
sub-continent but also to kingdoms east and south of India.
These three ancient religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, are seen as the
molders of the India philosophy. In 'modern' period new religions were also
established in India.
One comparatively new religion in India is Sikhism and it was established in the
15th century. About 2% of Indians are Sikhs. There were other attempts to create
new religions in India but they did not always succeed. For example, a Moghul
emperor, Akbar, who reigned between 1556 - 1605, tried to establish a new
religion, Din- E- Elahi, but it did not survive. There are other religious
philosophies whose believers see themselves as a separate religion, but they do
not always get this recognition. For example Lingayat of south India see
themselves as a different religion, while others see them as a sect of Hinduism.
There are also some tribal communities who demand to be recognized as separate
religion from Hinduism. In the 19th century some Hindu reformers tried to
remodel Hinduism to adjust it to modern period.
Along with the religions that developed in India, there are followers of non-
Indian religions. The largest non-Indian religion is Islam. They are about 12%
of India's population. Christians are more then 2% of India's population. There
are also Zoroastrians who even though make less then 0.01% of India's
population, are known around India. There are also a few thousand Jews in India.
Judaism and Christianity might have arrived in India before they arrived in
Europe.
Arrival of Non-Indo Religions
India, well known as the land of spirituality and philosophy, was the
birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism among other religions.
Along with the religions that developed in India, there are also followers of
religions of non- Indian origins. Among these religions are Islam, Christianity,
Zoroastrianism, Bahaism and Judaism. The followers of these different religions
arrived in India at different times.
The largest religion of non-Indian origin is Islam. They are about 12% of
India's population. Muslims who arrived in India converted Indians to Islam.
Islam was spread in India through two means, peaceful and sword. The first
spreaders of Islam in India were individuals who saw in spreading Islam a holy
precept. They used peaceful means to convert to Islam. But most of Indians are
believed to have converted to Islam through the sword, which means the Muslim
invaders gave the Indians an option to choose between death and Islam. The
different Muslim rulers of India also brought into their kingdoms Muslim
mercenaries, businessmen and slaves from different parts of the world like
Russia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Arab countries and Africa. These people remained in
India, married local Indians and converted them to Islam.
Like the Muslims, the Christians, who arrived to India also converted Indians to
their religion, Christianity. Christians are about 2.5% of India's population.
Most of the Indians were converted to Christianity by the missionaries who
arrived in India with the European powers from 15th century. Of the European
powers, the Portuguese were most enthusiast to baptize Indians. But Christianity
did not arrive in India with the arrival of European missionaries. It reached
India almost 2000 years ago.
Christianity originates in Israel. One of the Apostles (the 12 chief disciples
of Jesus), St. Judas Thomas, was a carpenter. He was brought to India by a
merchant to build a temple. St. Thomas arrived in Kerala, in south India in 52
AD. He succeeded in converting local Indians to Christianity. His converts were
called Syrian Christians. One assumption says that some of the Syrian Christians
were actually local Jews converted by St. Judas Thomas to Christianity. The
disciples of Jesus at first intended to convince the Jews to adopt the
philosophy of Jesus as new Judaism. Therefore they arrived to regions where Jews
had settled in the world. Among these regions where Jews had settled was India.
Two Apostles are believed to have arrived in India for this purpose. St. Judas
Thomas arrived in Kerala in south India and St. Bartholomew in western
Maharashtra in west India.
Judaism is probably the oldest religion of non-Indian origin to arrive in India.
Today there are also a few thousand Jews in India. Judaism and Christianity
might have arrived in India before they reached Europe.
The different Jewish communities of India, Bene Israel, Cochini, Baghdadi and
Bne Menashe claims their arrival in India in different ways and it is not always
clear how they really came to India. The Bene Israel, which is the largest
Jewish community of India, lived earlier in the villages of west Maharashtra.
They are believed to exist in India for over 2000 years. The Cochini Jews in
south India also claim that their first forefathers arrived in India over 2000
years ago during King Solomon's rule. The Bne Menashe of East India who claim to
origin from the 'Lost Tribes' arrived much later in India. The Bne Menashes
arrived in east India from China and Myanmar (Burma). In the late 18th century,
Jews from Arab countries and Iran arrived in India because of religious
persecutions in their countries. They were called collectively as Baghdadi Jews.
Two other religions that arrived in India because of religious persecutions in
their countries were Zoroastrianism and Bahaism. Both of them arrived from Iran.