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Religion
in India is a part of life. Though Hinduism is the dominant
religion, Indians have learnt to co-exist with people
of other faiths.
Whether
it is the ancient shlokas of the Hindu prayers, the aazaans
of the Muslim prayers, the gurvani of the Sikhs or the
chanting of the Buddhist monks - all fill the sky simultaneously.
The main religious communities in India are Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis.
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Muslims
are India's largest religious minority, accounting for
nearly 10% of India's population. The teachings of Islam,
closely corressponds with the Old Testament of the Bible,
also Moses and Jesus are both accepted by the Muslims,
although they do not consider Jesus to be the son of God.
The aim of every Muslim is to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca
at least once in their lifetime. The Jama Masjid in Delhi
is the largest mosque in India.
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Sikhism
was born out of the teachings of Guru Nanak, at the beginning
of the 16th Century. This movement rejected the hemony
and the socio-economic divisions of the brahmanical society.
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Christians in India are generally found in
the western coast and Kerala. Christianity has existed in
Kerala since very long. Historical evidence shows that the
first Indian converts were made by St Thomas, the Apostle
himself in 52 AD. St. Thomas preached the Gospel in many
parts of India and is said to have been martyred in Madras
(now Chennai).
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Although
Buddhists are a minority in India the religion is of great
importance, as this religion originates here. Buddhism
was founded in northern India, when prince Siddharta renounced
the world and sought enlightenment.It is a religion of
philosophy, which has a code of morality.
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Like
Buddha, Mahavir was the prince who founded the Jain religion.
In fact the two were almost contemporaries.
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Founded
in Persia by the prophet Zarathustra in the 6th or 7th
Century BC, Zorastrianism is one of the oldest religions
in the world. He was born in Mazar-i-Sharif, which is
now in Afghanistan.
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