June 30, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

A 233-page report titled "Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation" was released on June 29. The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank, conducted the most comprehensive and in-depth study of religion in India to date. A face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indians was conducted between November 17, 2019 and March 23, 2020, prior to the COVID-19 epidemic. Among respondents from 26 states and three federally administered territories, there are 22,975 people who identify as Hindu, 3,336 people who identify as Muslim, 1,782 people who identify as Sikh, 1,011 people who identify as Christian, 719 people who identify as Buddhist, 109 people who identify as Jain, and 67 people who identify as religiously unaffiliated.

Personnel from the Pew Research Center collaborated with subject matter experts and project consultants to create the survey. The questionnaire was written in English and translated into 16 languages before being fieldtested and independently checked by experienced linguists who spoke regional dialects natively.

Some of the report's key findings are as follows: 

(1) Despite living in religious segregation, Indians embrace religious tolerance. Interfaith marriage is a major concern for people of all faiths across the country. 
(2) For many Hindus, national identity, religion, and language are all intertwined. 
(3) National identity and politics are inextricably linked for Hindus. 
(4) Dietary restrictions are an important part of Indian religious identity. (5) Muslims favor having their own religious courts. 
(6) Muslims are more likely than Hindus to believe that partitioning India and Pakistan in 1947 had an impact on Hindu-Muslim relations.
(7) The caste system in India, a centuries-old social order rooted in Hindu scriptures, continues to splinter society. 
(8) Religious conversion is rare in India; when it occurs, Hindus gain as many converts as they lose. 
(9) The vast majority of Indians believe in God and regard religion as very important in their lives. 
(10) Religious groups in India share a wide range of religious ideas and rituals.

According to the Indian census, Indians who favor a religiously segregated society value religious tolerance highly. To put it another way, the Indian concept of religious tolerance does not require religious communities to mix. Although Indians emphasize the importance of respecting all regions, major religious groups see no common ground and wish to live separately.

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