page_title: Religion in India
section_title: Evolution of Hinduism in India
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in India / History / Evolution of Hinduism in India
caption_attribution_description: English: Rigveda MS in Sanskrit on paper, India, early 19th c., 4 vols., 795 ff. (complete), 10x20 cm, single column, (7x17 cm), 10 lines in Devanagari script with deletions in yellow, Vedic accents, corrections etc in red. Binding: India, 19th c., blind-stamped brown leather, gilt spine, sewn on 5 cords, marbled endleaves Provenance: 1. Eames Collection, Chicago, no. 1956; 2. Newberry Library, Chicago, ORMS 960 (acq.no. 152851-152854) (ca. 1920-1994); 3. Sam Fogg cat. 17(1996):42. Français&#160;: Manuscrit du Rig Véda, début du XIXe siècle.
context_page_description: Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The preamble of Indian constitution states that India is a secular state. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the population of India practices Hinduism, 14.2% adheres to Islam, 2.3% adheres to Christianity, 1.7% adheres to Sikhism, 0.7% adheres to Buddhism and 0.4% adheres to Jainism. Zoroastrianism, Sanamahism and Judaism also have an ancient history in India, and each has several thousands of Indian adherents. India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism and Bahá'í Faith in the world, even though these religions initially grew in Persia. Throughout India's history, religion has been an important part of the country's culture. Religious diversity and religious tolerance are both established in the country by the law and custom; the Constitution of India has declared the right to freedom of religion to be a fundamental right.
  Today, India is home to around 94% of the global population of Hindus.
context_section_description: Hinduism is often regarded as the oldest religion in the world, with roots tracing back to prehistoric times, over 5,000 years ago. Hinduism spread through parts of Southeastern Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. Hindus worship a single god with different forms.
  Hinduism was practised more as the culture of the land until the British conquistador era had thrived. Hinduism as a culture had always been traditionally practised where spirituality and science are embraced in conjunction. And in Hinduism, Sanathana Dharma is considered the grandmother of all philosophies. Post western influence, Hinduism, over years has been type-cast as a religion. Hinduism's origins include the cultural elements of the Indus Valley Civilisation along with other Indian civilisations. The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rigveda, produced during the Vedic period and dating to 1700–1100 BCE. During the Epic and Puranic periods, the earliest versions of the epic poems, in their current form including Ramayana and Mahabharata were written roughly from 500–100 BCE, although these were orally transmitted through families for centuries prior to this period.
  After 200 BCE, several schools of thought were formally codified in the Indian philosophy, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta. Hinduism, otherwise a highly theistic religion, hosted atheistic schools and atheistic philosophies. Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as orthodox include Samkhya and Mimamsa.
caption: An early 19th century manuscript of the Rigveda written in Devanagari
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