RELIGION: CONCEPT AND ITS SOCIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

• Religion is a system of beliefs, practices, and values related to the sacred, involving supernatural entities and powers considered central to all human existence (Sinha, 1974-508).
• Sociologists focus on the social effects of religious beliefs and practices rather than the competing claims of different religions.
• Sociological analysis of religion examines:
  • How religious beliefs and practices are articulated in society.
  • The impact of religion on interactions between people of different religious faiths.
  • How religion can lead to conflicts and riots (e.g., communalism).
  • The role of secularism in containing interreligious biases.
• Key questions addressed by sociologists of religion:
  • How does religion reinforce social solidarity or collective unity through worship and rituals? (Durkheim)
  • How does religion block emotional and intellectual development? (Marx)
  • How is a specific economic system (e.g., capitalism) shaped by a particular religious ideology (e.g., Protestantism)? (Max Weber)
  • Is one religion (e.g., Hinduism) more tolerant and accommodative than another (e.g., Islam)?
  • What is the effect of being religiously described as an untouchable on a person’s way of life?
  • Do the belief systems of different sects of the same religion (e.g., Shias vs. Sunnis in Islam) make conflict inevitable?
  • Does religion (e.g., Islam) oppose family planning measures?
• Before analyzing these aspects, understanding the demographic dimensions and geographical distribution of different religions in India is necessary.

RELIGION: LIVING PATTERNS

Demographic Dimensions and Geographical Distribution of Different Religions in India

• 82.41% of India’s population is Hindu (including SCs and STs), 12.12% are Muslims, 2.30% are Christians, 1.84%are Sikhs, 0.60% are Buddhists, 0.44% are Jains, and 0.29% belong to other religions.
• Five states in India have Hindus in minority, namely Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep. (In 2021, Jammu and Kashmir’s demographic shifted with the region’s political changes, affecting minority proportions).
• Muslim population predominates in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and West Bengal.
• The Muslim concentration varies across states:
  • Assam: 28.4%
  • West Bengal: 23.6%
  • Kerala: 23.3%
  • Uttar Pradesh: 17.3%
  • Bihar: 14.8%
  • Karnataka: 11.6%
  • Maharashtra: 9.7%
  • Andhra Pradesh: 8.9%.
• Muslims make up 12.12% of India’s population, but only around 5% speak Urdu, and not all Urdu speakers are Muslim. (The rise in Hindu-Muslim intermarriages and cultural exchanges across regions has led to Urdu’s wider use, even outside Muslim communities).

Neighbourhood Living Patterns

• Muslims prefer to live in areas where they predominate due to various factors.
• Hindus may not accept Muslims as tenants, prompting Muslims to seek areas with a Muslim majority.
• Muslims feel secure in such areas and are able to preserve their culture.
• In mixed areas with both Hindus and Muslims, there are clusters, cleavages, and polarities.
• Polarity refers to a shared sense of affinity, belongingness, and identity around a specific issue, such as religious, political, or ideological matters.
• Polarisation is the heightened sense of identity leading to emotional, mental, or physical mobilization for group cohesion.
• Cleavage is the division of a population into two opposing polarities with contrasting tendencies.
• Cluster refers to the habitation pattern of individuals from one polarity sharing common ground in a specific area.
• Muslims’ living patterns are influenced by polarity, polarisation, cleavages, and clusters, offering them security and supporting interpersonal relationships.
• In mixed Hindu-Muslim areas, there is rarely any exchange of goods or mutual invitations.
• Hindus and Sikhs living together often engage in exchanges and attend each other’s events like marriages.
• It requires liberalism and flexibility for individuals to form spontaneous intimate relationships.
• Love and fraternity serve as cementing forces in social relationships.
• Social relationships are based on participation, reciprocity, and a shared sense of responsibility to regain self-identity without compromising individuality and freedom.