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RELIGIONS OF INDIA
India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of the country and most of its people.Hinduism is a set of religious traditions that originated mainly in the Indian subcontinent. It is not a single well-defined religion, in the sense that it consists of several schools of thought and traditions. Hinduism encompasses many religious rituals that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. The majority of contemporary Hindus follow the Vedanta philosophy and believe in a cosmic spirit called Brahman, that is worshipped in many forms such as Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti.
Buddhism, known in ancient India as Buddha Dharma, originated in northern India in what is today the state of Bihar. It rapidly gained adherents during the Buddha's lifetime. It was also the religion of the rich and the upper classes and hence up to the 9th century, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands only compared to other religions which numbered in millions. While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India is disputed, it is known that the mingling of Hindu and Buddhist societies in India and the rise of Hindu Vedanta movements began to compete against Buddhism.
Christianity, according to tradition arrived in India in the first century (c.52-85AD) through the apostle Thomas. Islam arrived in India as early as the 8th century A.D. During the following decades, Islam contributed greatly to the cultural enhancement of an already rich Indian culture, shaping not only the shape of Northern Indian classical music but encouraging a grand tradition of Urdu literature both religious and secular. Sikhism was founded in India's northwestern Punjab region about 400 years ago. As of 2001 there were 19.3 million Sikhs in India. Many of today's Sikhs are situated in Punjab, the largest Sikh province in the world and the ancestral home of Sikhs. There are also significant populations of Sikhs in the neighboring states of Haryana and New Delhi. The most famous Sikh temple is the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar, Punjab. Jainism, along with Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, is one of the four major Dharmic religions originating in India.
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