India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with one 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.

The faith of more than 80% of the people is Hinduism, considered the world's oldest religious and philosophical system. Islam is practiced by around 13% of all Indians.

Sikhism, Ayyavazhi, Buddhism and Jainism are Indian-born religious systems that are strong and influential not only in India but across the world

Hinduism:-
Many Hindus (mainly from North India and of the Indian state of Maharashtra) identify the Supreme Being as the Lord Vishnu and are known as Vaishnavas; many others (mainly from Southern Indian) believe the Supreme Being is the Lord Shiva or Shankar and are known as Shaivaite; while many other (mainly from West Bengal) believe in the female Principal Shakti as the Supreme Energy or Force for life (birth and preservation) and destruction unified, and are called Shakti while in other branches of Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Shakti is God's Unified Energy (Power) personified. The fourth major group, the Smarta, call the Trinity and Shakti as the Supreme One Brahman, which manifests into personal forms of God, such as Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva.

Fasting
Fasting is when an individual eats very little or abstains from food altogether. However fasting is not confined to gender, many Hindus choose certain days to refrain from eating certain food stuffs, such as salt or sour foods.

Pilgrimage
Many religious Hindus make piligrimages to the holy shrines, temples and Tirthas, especially Lord Shiva's lingam in Amarnath and Anantnag, the holy cities of Haridwar, Kashi, Allahabad, Mathura, Rameshwaram, Tirupathi and Ayodhya.

Death
Upon the death of a Hindu person, his or her body is ceremonially bathed and wrapped in clean, mostly white khadi cloth. The families often dress their departed relative in their best clothes, but maintain an emphasize on less color.

At the ceremony of cremation all mourners must wear only white clothes. In modern times, dullcolored clothes, shirts and pants are deemed acceptable.

Buddhism :-
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. Up to the 9th century, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of millions.

Sikhism :-
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. The most famous Sikh temple is the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar, Punjab. Many Sikhs serve in the Indian Army. The current prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, is a Sikh. Punjab is the spiritual home of Sikhs and is the only state in India where Sikhs form a majority.

Islam :-
Islam is the second-largest religion in India, where Muslims number around 137 million people. India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world.

Since its introduction to India, Islam has made valuable religious, philosophy, culture, social and political contributions to Indian history, heritage and life. It has also been a source of social, religious, political and military conflict over one thousand years.

As of 2001, there are about 130 million Muslims in India, most of whom were converted during the Mughal period and they mostly live in the north and west of the country.