Among India’s religious believers

Recommendable! Fascinating! Tolerance through segregation!

"...  India isn’t a melting pot like the United States. Rather, it’s a thali—a collection of different dishes in separate bowls that don’t necessarily flow into one another, but nonetheless combine satisfyingly on your palate. ...
For starters, India is deeply religious: 97% of Indians say they believe in God and about 80% are certain that God exists. ‘Not only do most of the world’s Hindus, Jains and Sikhs live in India, but it also is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations and to millions of Christians and Buddhists,’ the Pew study observes. ...

An overwhelming majority (84%) of respondents say that respect for other religions is a fundamental aspect of their identity. ‘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.”’ Tolerance is also a religious 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.’

But for all this mutual respect, segregationist impulses remain strong. For example, 36% of Hindus do not want Muslims as neighbors (though that does mean 64% are willing to accept them). Likewise, opposition to interfaith and intercaste marriages is widespread. About 80% of Indian Muslims disapprove of, and wish to prevent, interfaith marriages. Roughly two-thirds of Hindus feel the same way.

Disappointingly, Indians also prefer making friends within their own religious community. ..."

Among India’s believers | The Strategist It’s rare for a public opinion survey to shake established perceptions of a country in the way a recent Pew Research Center study of religion in India has done. The revelations in Pew’s comprehensive survey, based on interviews with 30,000 adults in 17 languages between late 2019 and early 2020, have astonished many.

Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation Indians say it is important to respect all religions, but major religious groups see little in common and want to live separately