Pew Forum Survey of India: Religion in India, Tolerance and Segregation

 

Pew conducted what seems like an exhaustive survey of India.  They:

Surveyed 29,999 Indian adults (including 22,975 who identify as Hindu, 3,336 who identify as Muslim, 1,782 who identify as Sikh, 1,011 who identify as Christian, 719 who identify as Buddhist, 109 who identify as Jain and 67 who identify as belonging to another religion or as religiously unaffiliated). Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted face-to-face under the direction of RTI International from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

So that’s almost 30,000 people (why did they hold back?) – and the results are fascinating. I suspect they’re also frustrating for people (both sides of the political spectrum) who are more comfortable making claims without evidence, with the loudest voices carrying the day.

To set it up for you, 81% of the adults in India are Hindu (615 million), 12.9% Muslim (97 million), 2.4% Christian (18m), 1.9% Sikh (5 m), 0.7% Buddhist (4 M), 0.4% Jain (3 m) and 0.6% Other (4 M).

What PEW led with – religious tolerance:

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.” And tolerance is a religious as well as civic value: Indians are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community.

These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too. A third of Christians in India (32%)…say they believe in the purifying power of the Ganges…In Northern India, 12% of Hindus and 10% of Sikhs, along with 37% of Muslims, identity with Sufism, a mystical tradition most closely associated with Islam. And the vast majority of Indians of all major religious backgrounds say that respecting elders is very important to their faith.

Yet, despite sharing certain values and religious beliefs – as well as living in the same country, under the same constitution – members of India’s major religious communities often don’t feel they have much in common with one another. The majority of Hindus see themselves as very different from Muslims (66%), and most Muslims return the sentiment, saying they are very different from Hindus (64%)….generally, people in India’s major religious communities tend to see themselves as very different from others.

…Many Indians, across a range of religious groups, say it is very important to stop people in their community from marrying into other religious groups….Indians generally stick to their own religious group when it comes to their friends…many would prefer to keep people of certain religions out of their residential areas or villages.

Strangely:

Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

National identity:

The survey finds that Hindus tend to see their religious identity and Indian national identity as closely intertwined: Nearly two-thirds of Hindus (64%) say it is very important to be Hindu to be “truly” Indian…

Even though Hindu BJP voters who link national identity with religion and language are more inclined to support a religiously segregated India, they also are more likely than other Hindu voters to express positive opinions about India’s religious diversity. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of this group… say religious diversity benefits India, compared with about half (47%) of other Hindu voters.

Xenophobic streak:

…the survey also asked respondents if they completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree or completely disagree with the statement “Indian people are not perfect, but Indian culture is superior to others.”

An overwhelming majority of Indians agree with the statement (90%), including 72% who completely agree. Three-quarters of Hindus and roughly the same share of Buddhists (73%) completely agree that Indian culture is superior to others. Among other religious minority groups, somewhat fewer people share this sentiment – about half of Christians (52%) completely agree Indian culture is superior, as do 63% of Muslims and 57% of Sikhs.

Caste:

Most Indians from other castes say they would be willing to have someone belonging to a Scheduled Caste as a neighbor (72%). But a similarly large majority of Indians overall (70%) say that most or all of their close friends share their caste. And Indians tend to object to marriages across caste lines, much as they object to interreligious marriages.3

Overall, 64% of Indians say it is very important to stop women in their community from marrying into other castes, and about the same share (62%) say it is very important to stop men in their community from marrying into other castes. These figures vary only modestly across members of different castes.

Religiosity:

the vast majority of Indians, across all major faiths, say that religion is very important in their lives. And at least three-quarters of each major religion’s followers say they know a great deal about their own religion and its practices

Belief in God:

Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists.

Diet is important:

Hindus are divided on whether beliefs and practices such as believing in God, praying and going to the temple are necessary to be a Hindu. But one behavior that a clear majority of Indian Hindus feel is incompatible with Hinduism is eating beef: 72% of Hindus in India say a person who eats beef cannot be a Hindu…

Three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is even higher than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

So there’s that.

Disturbingly:

Slightly fewer than half of Indians say that the country should rely on a democratic form of government to solve the country’s problems (46%). The other half say that it would be better for the country to have a leader with a strong hand (48%)…

This ambivalence toward democracy exists to some degree among all the country’s religious groups. In the Pew Research Center survey, among Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jains, there is no clear majority position on this question. Only among Buddhists (57%) and Sikhs (54%) do more than half of adults express a preference for a democratic form of government.

Regional differences are more stark. Fully six-in-ten Indians in the Central region say that a leader with a strong hand is best suited to solving India’s problems, compared with only one-third who prefer a democratic form of government. The opposite is true in the Northeast, where about six-in-ten adults prefer democracy (61%). There also is a modest gap between urban and rural regions, with half of urban residents (50%) preferring democracy, compared with 44% of adults in rural districts.

It’s very interesting, and the first time that I have seen these kinds of statistics across the country for these beliefs and positions.  Some of it good, some of it depressing, but it is what it is.  If you’re interested in India, do have a look.

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  1. Raxxalan Member
    Raxxalan
    @Raxxalan

    @zafar interesting indeed.  What is the state of polling in India?  It has gotten so bad in the US that certain polling is entirely worthless, hence the wild mismatch between polling and election results.  Is there a similar effect in India?  Are there some questions where the “right” answer is so obvious that no one would dare give a contrary result?  

    • #1
  2. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Raxxalan (View Comment):
    Are there some questions where the “right” answer is so obvious that no one would dare give a contrary result?

    Absolutely, but these answers are off point enough that I think maybe they aren’t it?

    • #2
  3. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    That is all fascinating data. Thank you for sharing it. 

    • #3
  4. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Zafar:

    An overwhelming majority of Indians agree with the statement (90%), including 72% who completely agree. Three-quarters of Hindus and roughly the same share of Buddhists (73%) completely agree that Indian culture is superior to others. Among other religious minority groups, somewhat fewer people share this sentiment – about half of Christians (52%) completely agree Indian culture is superior, as do 63% of Muslims and 57% of Sikhs.

     

    Not a Xenophobic streak in the least. It’s completely natural to believe your own culture is superior to others. If you don’t, then you’d best adopt the culture you think is superior and then you would still think your culture is superior. That also happens.

    • #4
  5. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Zafar: These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.

    Karma?  Is Pew saying that 77% of muslims believe in reincarnation?

    • #5
  6. Raxxalan Member
    Raxxalan
    @Raxxalan

    Zafar (View Comment):

    Raxxalan (View Comment):
    Are there some questions where the “right” answer is so obvious that no one would dare give a contrary result?

    Absolutely, but these answers are off point enough that I think maybe they aren’t it?

    Thanks for the info.  

    • #6
  7. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Zafar: These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.

    Karma? Is Pew saying that 77% of muslims believe in reincarnation?

    Pew says (if I recall correctly) that 77% of Indian Muslims said they believed in Karma, but only about 30% said they believed in reincarnation.  How that works I’m not sure, but Pew didn’t define any of the terms for the people they interviewed.

    • #7
  8. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Zafar (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Zafar: These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.

    Karma? Is Pew saying that 77% of muslims believe in reincarnation?

    Pew says (if I recall correctly) that 77% of Indian Muslims said they believed in Karma, but only about 30% said they believed in reincarnation. How that works I’m not sure, but Pew didn’t define any of the terms for the people they interviewed.

    I used to believe in reincarnation, but that was in a previous life.

     

    • #8
  9. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Zafar: Overall, 64% of Indians say it is very important to stop women in their community from marrying into other castes, and about the same share (62%) say it is very important to stop men in their community from marrying into other castes. These figures vary only modestly across members of different castes.

    Are castes effectively equivalent to economic background or subculture? Is someone of a high caste marrying someone of a low caste similar to an American from a wealthy family marrying someone from poverty? 

    The money doesn’t matter, but there are a host of cultural values, interests, and expectations that typically accompany economic backgrounds. A rich person and poor person marrying is like a city person and country person marrying or a marriage of mixed religions. It works sometimes, but people often underestimate the challenges.

    • #9
  10. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Zafar: Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists.

    That surprises me. But maybe many who believe in multiple gods answered yes to “believe in God” only because no polytheistic option was offered.

    Years ago, someone of the priest caste told me many Hindus misunderstood their own religion (as most members of any religion are not theology junkies) and that the many gods of Hinduism are actually many expressions of one God. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but I could believe it.

    Zafar: Three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is even higher than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

    This is funny and sad. It’s just human nature, like the many Catholics who attend Mass without understanding the central role of Eucharist. Most people associate with a religion passively and culturally, rather than very deliberately, I think.

    • #10
  11. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?  

    • #11
  12. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar:

    Xenophobic streak:

    …the survey also asked respondents if they completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree or completely disagree with the statement “Indian people are not perfect, but Indian culture is superior to others.”

    An overwhelming majority of Indians agree with the statement (90%), including 72% who completely agree. Three-quarters of Hindus and roughly the same share of Buddhists (73%) completely agree that Indian culture is superior to others. Among other religious minority groups, somewhat fewer people share this sentiment – about half of Christians (52%) completely agree Indian culture is superior, as do 63% of Muslims and 57% of Sikhs.

    I don’t see any xenophobia in this, but then I take the word “xenophobia” in a more literal sense than some people might.  

    • #12
  13. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar:

    Disturbingly:

    Slightly fewer than half of Indians say that the country should rely on a democratic form of government to solve the country’s problems (46%). The other half say that it would be better for the country to have a leader with a strong hand (48%)…

     Too bad they weren’t asked about the other alternatives.  

    • #13
  14. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Zafar (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Zafar: These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.

    Karma? Is Pew saying that 77% of muslims believe in reincarnation?

    Pew says (if I recall correctly) that 77% of Indian Muslims said they believed in Karma, but only about 30% said they believed in reincarnation. How that works I’m not sure, but Pew didn’t define any of the terms for the people they interviewed.

    I would think that karma would be well understood in India. :)

    • #14
  15. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Disturbingly:

    Slightly fewer than half of Indians say that the country should rely on a democratic form of government to solve the country’s problems (46%). The other half say that it would be better for the country to have a leader with a strong hand (48%)…

    Too bad they weren’t asked about the other alternatives.

    ??

    • #15
  16. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?

    “I think you’re awesome but I want as little to do with you as possible”.

    Not strange?

    • #16
  17. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Aaron Miller (View Comment):

    …the many gods of Hinduism and actually many expressions of one God. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but I could believe it.

    I think the survey showed most Hindus believed just that. (Monism?)

     

    • #17
  18. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Aaron Miller (View Comment):
    Are castes effectively equivalent to economic background or subculture?

    Not always.

    Is someone of a high caste marrying someone of a low caste similar to an American from a wealthy family marrying someone from poverty? 

    More like a Boston Brahmin marrying a post-War immigrant (rich or poor).

    • #18
  19. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?

    “I think you’re awesome but I want as little to do with you as possible”.

    Not strange?

    Separate, but wonderful.

    • #19
  20. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?

    “I think you’re awesome but I want as little to do with you as possible”.

    Not strange?

    Not strange at all. Take former President Reagan, for example. Awesome guy, but I had absolutely no desire to engage or interact with him other than what I was duty-bound to do at the ballot box and such.  In fact, I would have preferred to avoid it. (Years ago when I said something like this on a social media forum while he was still alive, there was a person who didn’t admire him as much as I did, who was not a close associate but who did spend time in his presence. He thought I had the wrong impression of him as a person.  Still, I wanted him to stay in his place, and I’ll stay in mine. I have nothing to offer him in his personal life, and he has nothing to offer me.)

     

    • #20
  21. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Disturbingly:

    Slightly fewer than half of Indians say that the country should rely on a democratic form of government to solve the country’s problems (46%). The other half say that it would be better for the country to have a leader with a strong hand (48%)…

    Too bad they weren’t asked about the other alternatives.

    ??

    There are various forms of representative government, some of which are not especially democratic.  

    • #21
  22. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    The Reticulator (View Comment):
    Take former President Reagan, for example. Awesome guy, but I had absolutely no desire to engage or interact with him other than what I was duty-bound to do at the ballot box and such.  In fact, I would have preferred to avoid it.

    None of India’s religious groups seem like the embodiment of Ronald Reagan. Maybe it will come to me?

    • #22
  23. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):
    Take former President Reagan, for example. Awesome guy, but I had absolutely no desire to engage or interact with him other than what I was duty-bound to do at the ballot box and such. In fact, I would have preferred to avoid it.

    None of India’s religious groups seem like the embodiment of Ronald Reagan. Maybe it will come to me?

    They don’t need to seem like that.  Reagan’s personal world was not my personal world, and I wanted it to stay that way.  

    Does that help?  

    • #23
  24. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?

    “I think you’re awesome but I want as little to do with you as possible”.

    Not strange?

    It’s not strange for people who believe religion is fundamental and pivotal to one’s life, rather than akin to a musical preference or regional pride. If your religion is the center of everything you believe to be true, if it determines your values and priorities (both privately and publicly), then to encourage marriage within one’s religion is to encourage marriage with someone who values the same things you do and pursues them by similar methods. 

    Sometimes interreligious marriages lead to the conversion of one spouse. More often, they signal that the religions they claim are not really the governing principles of their lives. It is a form of multiculturalism, which is truly indifference to culture rather than respect for many cultures. 

    For example, a faithful Catholic believes that the sacrament of Baptism is an unmerited gift chosen by God rather than the baptized. Because baptism is entrance into the holy family and necessary for salvation, we baptize infants. Many Protestants don’t baptize infants because they believe it is the individual’s reasoned acceptance of God’s offer. Consequently, if the two married, they would sharply disagree about whether or not quickly baptizing the baby is a necessary expression of their love. On the other hand, if they only culturally identify as Catholic and Protestant with few deep religious commitments, then they will shrug off such differences. 

    Like I vote Republican and believe the Democrat party is destructive yet I can befriend Democrats for all we can share beyond political concerns, so we can tolerate people of different religions while simultaneously believing their religions are incorrect and even harmful. But that only works in a society where one religion dominates, or else differences of fundamental beliefs must cause serious rifts over battles of public policy.

    • #24
  25. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Aaron Miller (View Comment):

    The money doesn’t matter, but there are a host of cultural values, interests, and expectations that typically accompany economic backgrounds. A rich person and poor person marrying is like a city person and country person marrying or a marriage of mixed religions. It works sometimes, but people often underestimate the challenges.

    Statistically, almost no rich woman marries a poor man. This has been documented in every country across decades. 

    • #25
  26. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Disturbingly:

    Slightly fewer than half of Indians say that the country should rely on a democratic form of government to solve the country’s problems (46%). The other half say that it would be better for the country to have a leader with a strong hand (48%)…

    Too bad they weren’t asked about the other alternatives.

    ??

    A Republican government with well-trained and effective police. You can elect a leader who is strong.

    • #26
  27. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Zafar (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Zafar:

    Strangely:

    Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres..Indians who favor a religiously segregated society also overwhelmingly emphasize religious tolerance as a core value. For example, among Hindus who say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of Hindu women, 82% also say that respecting other religions is very important to what it means to be Hindu…

    Why do you call that strange?

    “I think you’re awesome but I want as little to do with you as possible”.

    Not strange?

    Entirely normal. Humans are born to hate one another. We are not made in the image of G-d but in the image of a savage ape. 

    • #27
  28. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Aaron Miller (View Comment):

    The money doesn’t matter, but there are a host of cultural values, interests, and expectations that typically accompany economic backgrounds. A rich person and poor person marrying is like a city person and country person marrying or a marriage of mixed religions. It works sometimes, but people often underestimate the challenges.

    Statistically, almost no rich woman marries a poor man. This has been documented in every country across decades.

    I actually know an example of that situation personally. They divorced. A highly educated woman of a relatively affluent suburban family married an uneducated redneck of a farming family. They shared enough for the thrills of new romance and easy living. But when children and trials came, they could not communicate well and act as one. 

    Years ago, someone on Ricochet publicly wrote about falling in love with her Jewish heritage only after marrying a Christian. According to her testimony, it was only after she developed this passion for practicing a different religion that the difference of religious heritage stressed them to the point of divorce. While they were blasé about their religions, the difference didn’t matter. I would argue that is because they previously shared one worldview which was defined more by secular society than by religious dogmas.

    • #28
  29. JosePluma, Local Man of Mystery Coolidge
    JosePluma, Local Man of Mystery
    @JosePluma

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Zafar (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Zafar: These shared values are accompanied by a number of beliefs that cross religious lines. Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.

    Karma? Is Pew saying that 77% of muslims believe in reincarnation?

    Pew says (if I recall correctly) that 77% of Indian Muslims said they believed in Karma, but only about 30% said they believed in reincarnation. How that works I’m not sure, but Pew didn’t define any of the terms for the people they interviewed.

    I would think that karma would be well understood in India. :)

    Maybe they have the same superficial understanding of their religion that most “Christians” seem to have about Christianity.

    • #29
  30. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    They probably believe in “karma” in the same way Americans do: a vague sense that people ultimately get what they deserve, but with various and unrelated ideas (if any) of how that justice is effected. 

    That’s the trouble with polls generally. They can be useful for guesstimating a mile-high view of a large community. But it lacks the particular knowledge, context, and nuance of anecdotal knowledge. We all struggle to harmonize the two kinds of information into a cohesive understanding.

    • #30
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