Religious Demographic Profile
India
According to the 2001 India Census1, 80.5% of its population of 1 billion is Hindu and 13.4% of the population is Muslim. Other groups include Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%) and Jains (0.4%). The Census does not break down the 0.6% of the population that belongs to other religions; 0.1% do not state their religion.
Though India is majority Hindu, there is considerable variation by state. Muslims make up the majority of the population in Lakshadweep (95.5%) and in Jammu and Kashmir (67.0%), Christians predominate in Nagaland (90.0%) and Mizoram (87%), and Sikhs are the majority in Punjab (59.9%). Buddhists are most prevalent in Sikkim (28.1%) and Jains in Maharashtra (1.3%).
| Religious Affiliation, 2001 Census | ||||
| Indiaa | Meghalayab | Keralab | Tamil Nadub | |
| Hindu | 80.5% | 13.3 | 56.2 | 88.1 |
| Muslim | 13.4% | 4.3 | 24.7 | 5.6 |
| Others | 6.1% | 82.4 | 19.1 | 6.3 |
| Christian | 2.3% | 70.3 | 19.0 | 6.1 |
| Sikh | 1.9% | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Buddhist | 0.8% | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jain | 0.4% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Other | 0.6% | 11.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Not stated | 0.1% | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
a Mao Maram, Paomata and Purul subdivisions of the Senapati district of Manipur are not included in the Census.
b Localities in these states are included in the 2006 Forum survey of pentecostals. | ||||
The percentage of Hindus in the population has decreased by 3 percentage points since 1961, dropping from 83.5% in 1961 to 80.5% in 2001. Muslims have increased by nearly 3 percentage points in the same period, going from 10.7% in 1961 to 13.4% in 2001. During this same 40-year period, other religious groups have shown little change. For example, according to the Census2, Christians make up 2.3% of the population in both 1991 and 2001. Given India's population of more than 1 billion, slight changes in percentages represent many people. For example, the percentage of those belonging to other (non-subcategorized) religions increased from 0.4% (3.3 million people) in 1991 to 0.6% (6.6 million people) in 2001, doubling the actual number of people.
The Forum's 2006 survey of adults ages 18 and older was based on a probability sample of the adult population in localities in three Indian states that have high percentages of Christians: Meghalaya, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.3 In the survey, approximately 36% identified as Christian, 55% as Hindu, 8% as Muslim and 2% as other.
In the Forum survey, only one-in-one hundred respondents indicated they belong to a pentecostal denomination. Less than one-in-twenty identified as charismatic, including nearly one-in-ten Catholics.
| Renewalists in three statesa of India, Forum 2006 Survey | |||
| Renewalist | Pentecostal | Charismatic | |
| Total Population | 5% | 1 | 4 |
| Catholic | 8% | NA | 8 |
a Localities in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Meghalaya
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Notes
2Some have pointed to a potential bias against reporting changes in religious identity, e.g., from Hinduism to Christianity, among certain groups in India such as the dalits (formerly called "untouchables") and tribal peoples who benefit from government affirmative action programs. The 2006 International Religious Freedom Report on India notes: "According to a 2004 NCM [Indian Government National Commission for Minorities] report, 24 percent of government jobs were reserved for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, including dalits. Benefits accorded dalits were revoked once they converted to Christianity or Islam, but not to Buddhism or Sikhism" (http://www.state.gov).
3See the introduction to the survey report for a discussion of survey methodology and definitions.
