Kerala Religions
Kerala, Known as God's own country, deserves this tribute because of lots of features geographical and sociological. As far as the religion of
Kerala is concerned, there are mainly three religions in Kerala -
Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. According to the 1991 census 57.38% of the populations of Kerala are Hindus, 23.33 Muslims and 19.32 Christians. The other Indian religions like Buddhism; Jainism had some influence among the Hindus and was found scattered with their migration to Kerala.
Hinduism is one of the oldest of all the religions, practiced in Kerala. Hinduism is a way of life and is based on the belief of Sanathana Dharma. The Hindus worship the Supreme Being under three forms, Brahma- the creator, Vishnu- the savior and Shiva - destroyer.
Apart from Hinduism afterward on religions like Islam and Christianity with their variety of sects came on the scene. Muslims in Kerala, as anywhere else in the world, are strong unit precise religious and political agenda. It is thought that Islam entered into India through Kerala. Islam was also practiced by these traders from Middle East, who later settled in Coastal belt of Kerala. To this day Muslims are very expert in trade and commerce.
It is supposed that St. Thomas, one of the followers of Christ landed near Muziris in 52 AD and established 7 churches, of which 4 exist even today. Today, there are five distinct branches of Christianity in Kerala, the Roman Catholic Church following Syrian, Latin or Malayalam liturgies, the Mar Thomas Syrian Church, the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Church Of South India and the Nestorian Church.
Religion is played a central role in Kerala's culture. Kerala is only one state of India where one can find people of different community come together and celebrate each other's festival with pomp. Onam, the traditional festival of Hindus, Christmas and Ramzan - all these festivals are celebrated by all the community in Kerala. You can witness such tolerance and co-operation and religious amity as seen in Kerala.