Religion in Maharashtra (original) (raw)

Religion in Maharashtra is characterised by the diversity of religious beliefs and practices. According to the 2011 census, Hinduism was the principal religion in the state at 79.83% of the total population, while Muslims constituted 11.54% of the total population. Maharashtra has the India's largest Buddhist and Jain populations. Buddhism accounted for 6% in Maharashtra's total population, with 6.53 million followers, which is 77% of all Buddhists in India. Jains, Christians and Sikhs constituted 1.2%, 1.0%, 0.2% of the population respectively. Maharashtra also has a community of Jews known as Bene Israel.