India, home to more than one billion people, has been a land of religious diversity for thousands of years. It is the birthplace of four religions, , , , and , and has also assimilated two major faiths that were imported to its shores, and Christianity. It is also home to the Parsees (Zoroastrians) who came from Persia a thousand years ago, and a small community has lived in Kerala since Roman times.

Today, the majority of India's population is Hindu, but with 156 million Muslims, it is also the second largest Muslim country in the world. In addition, 24 million Christians, 19 million Sikhs, 8 million Buddhists, and 4 million Jains, along with members of many other lesser-known faiths and sects, are a vital part of the nation's multicultural fabric. The complexities of maintaining cohesion within such a pluralist society has been grappled with throughout India's history, from the Buddhist Mauryan emperor to the Muslim rulers of the Mughal Empire, the Christian viceroys of the and today's democratically elected leaders.

Since independence, India's commitment to secularism has remained resolute; its constitution does not recognize a specific religion, but faith remains an crucial part of everyday life as evidenced by the abundance of flourishing temples, mosques, churches, shrines, and pilgrimage sites found all over the country.

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