Religion in Kerala

Religion in Kerala (2011)

Religions in Kerala are a mixture of different faiths, most significantly Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Kerala has a reputation of being, communally one of the most tolerant states in India. According to 2011 Census of India figures, 54.73% of Kerala's residents are Hindus, 26.56% are Muslims, 18.38% are Christians, and the remaining 0.32% follows other religion or no religion. Various tribal people in Kerala have retained various religious beliefs of their ancestors. Hindus constitute the largest group in all districts except Malappuram where the Muslims are a majority.

Hinduism

The mythological legends regarding origin of Kerala are Hindu in nature. Kerala produced several saints and movements. Adi Shankara was a Brahmin philosopher who contributed to Hinduism and propagated philosophy of Advaita. He was instrumental in establishing four mathas at Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri and Jyotirmath. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri was another Brahmin religious figure who composed Narayaniyam, a collection of verses in praise of Krishna.

Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam (/ˈsuːni/ or /ˈsʊni/) is a denomination of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad's first Caliph was his father-in-law Abu Bakr. Sunni Islam primarily contrasts with Shi'a Islam, which holds that Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, not Abu Bakr, was his first caliph. Sunni Islam is by far the largest denomination of Islam. As of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the world's Muslim population. Its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة‎), "people of the tradition of Muhammad and the consensus of the Ummah" or ahl as-sunnah (Arabic أهل السنة) for short. In English, its theological study or doctrine is called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites and Ahlus Sunnah. Sunni Islam is the world's largest religious denomination, followed by Roman Catholicism. Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "orthodox Islam". The word "Sunni" comes from the term Sunnah (Arabic سنة), which refers to the sayings and actions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as recorded in the hadith.