Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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All major religious groups in India have shown sharp declines in their fertility rates, limiting change in the country’s religious composition since 1951. Meanwhile, fertility differences between India’s religious groups are generally much smaller than they used to be.
Indians overall know very little about Jainism and its practices. Here are six facts about Jains in India, from a June 2021 Center report.
Among India’s six largest religious groups, some are much more likely than others to abstain from eating meat.
Just about a third of Indian adults (35%) say they ever practice yoga, including 22% who say they do so monthly or less.
Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be “truly Indian.”
Many U.S. Christians – as well as the religiously unaffiliated – hold “New Age” beliefs, which include belief in reincarnation and astrology.
India is home to 1.4 billion people – almost one-sixth of the world’s population – who belong to a variety of ethnicities and religions. While 94% of the world’s Hindus live in India, there also are substantial populations of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and adherents of folk religions. Here are five facts about religion in India.
Israeli Druze make up roughly 2% of the country’s population and live mostly in the northern regions of the Galilee, Carmel and the Golan Heights. Their tradition dates back to the 11th century and incorporates elements of Islam, Hinduism and even classical Greek philosophy.
A new report measures religious diversity by the percentage of each country’s population in eight categories — Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, the unaffiliated, folk religionists and members of other religions.
