How many religions are there in India?

The main sects in India are: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism

India is one of the countries most affected by religion in the world. The influence reaches deep into every part of its society and culture. Religion plays a central and decisive role in the life of this country and the vast majority of its people.

India is known as the "Museum of Religions", and the most important religion is Hinduism. About 83% of the population in India believes in Hinduism. Hinduism can be traced back to Brahmanism founded by the Aryans in the 16th century BC. Around the 8th century AD, Shankara absorbed some Buddhist and Jain teachings and developed into Hinduism.

Extended information:

Islam is the second largest religion in India, with 13.4% of Indians believing in Islam. Due to rapid population growth, India has surpassed Indonesia to become the country with the largest number of Muslims in the world.

Islam spread to India with the expansion of the Arab Empire in the 8th century AD. After the 10th century AD, most of the dynasty rulers in northern India believed in Islam, especially the Mughals. During the Child Dynasty, India also left a considerable number of Islamic buildings.

Islam as a foreign religion and Hinduism, the main native religion, have led to a series of religious conflicts in India. The partition of India and Pakistan was also caused by the contradiction between Hinduism and Islam. This resulted in the tragedy of religious vendetta. In modern times, deep contradictions remain between these two major sects in India.

Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are all religions that originated in India and have a certain influence not only in India but also around the world. Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Baha'i faith are also influential religions, but in slightly smaller numbers.

Although religion has a great influence in India, many people also accept atheism and agnosticism.