Religion in Kerala

Last updated

Religion in Kerala (2011 census) [1]

   Hinduism (54.73%)
   Islam (26.56%)
   Christianity (18.38%)
  Other / None (0.33%)

Religion in Kerala is diverse. According to 2011 census of India figures, 54.73% of Kerala's population are Hindus, 26.56% are Muslims, 18.38% are Christians, and the remaining 0.33% follow other religions or have no religion. [2] As of 2020, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others account for 41.5%, 43.9%, 13.9% and 0.7% of the total child births in the state, respectively. [3]

Contents

The historical legends regarding the origin of Kerala are Hindu in nature. Kerala produced several saints and movements. Adi Shankara was a religious philosopher who contributed to Hinduism and propagated the philosophy of Advaita. Hindus represent the biggest religious group in all districts except Malappuram, where they are outnumbered by Muslims. [4] Various tribal people in Kerala have retained the religious beliefs of their ancestors. [4] [5] In comparison with the rest of India, Kerala experiences relatively little sectarianism. [6]

Hinduism

Ananthapura Lake Temple, Kasaragod Anantapura Lake Temple.jpg
Ananthapura Lake Temple, Kasaragod
Vadakkunnathan Temple dedicated to Shiva at Thrissur Vadakkumnathan Temple.jpg
Vadakkunnathan Temple dedicated to Shiva at Thrissur

Several saints and movements existed. Adi Shankara was a Hindu 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 religious figure who composed Narayaniyam, a collection of verses in praise of Krishna.

Some of the most notable temples are: Ananthapura Lake Temple, Angadipuram Thirumandhamkunnu Temple, Alathiyoor Hanuman Temple, Bhayankavu Bhagavathi Temple, Kadampuzha Devi Temple, Keraladeshpuram Temple, Panniyur Sri Varahamurthy Temple, Sukapuram Dakshinamoorthy Temple, Thirunavaya Navamukunda Temple, Triprangode Siva Temple, Tali Shiva Temple, Trikkandiyur Siva Temple, Thrissur Vadakkunnathan Temple, Guruvayur Temple, Thriprayar Temple, Lokanarkavu Temple, Thirunelli Temple, Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, Thiruvananthapuram Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple, Chottanikkara Temple, Chengannur Mahadeva Temple, Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple, Chettikulangara Devi Temple, Mannarasala Temple, Chakkulathukavu Temple, Thiruvalla Sreevallabha Temple, Kaviyoor Mahadevar Temple, Parumala Panayannarkavu Temple, Sree Poornathrayesa Temple, Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple, Trikkur Mahadeva Temple, Manalarkavu Devi Temple and Rajarajeshwara Temple. Temples in Kerala follow elaborate rituals and traditionally only priests from the Nambudiri caste could be appointed as priests in major temples. But in 2017 as per the state government's decision, the priests from the historically backward caste communities are now being appointed as priests.

Malayali Hindus practice ceremonies such as Chorunu (first feeding of rice to a child) and Vidyāraṃbhaṃ. [7]

Islam

History

Ancient Silk Road map showing the then trade routes. The spice trade was mainly along the water routes (blue). Silk route.jpg
Ancient Silk Road map showing the then trade routes. The spice trade was mainly along the water routes (blue).
Names, routes and locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg
Names, routes and locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE)
Shafi`i school (shaded in dark blue) is the most-prominent school among the Muslims of Kerala, coastal Karnataka, southern Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka unlike from rest of South Asia Madhhab Map3.png
Shafiʽi school (shaded in dark blue) is the most-prominent school among the Muslims of Kerala, coastal Karnataka, southern Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka unlike from rest of South Asia
Cheraman Juma Masjid at Kodungallur, Thrissur Cheraman Masjid 2.jpg
Cheraman Juma Masjid at Kodungallur, Thrissur

Kerala has been a major spice exporter since 3000 BCE, according to Sumerian records and it is still referred to as the "Garden of Spices" or as the "Spice Garden of India". [14] [15] :79 Kerala's spices attracted ancient Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians to the Malabar Coast in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. Phoenicians established trade with Kerala during this period. [16] Arabs and Phoenicians were the first to enter Malabar Coast to trade Spices. [16] The Arabs on the coasts of Yemen, Oman, and the Persian Gulf, must have made the first long voyage to Kerala and other eastern countries. [16] They must have brought the Cinnamon of Kerala to the Middle East. [16] The Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BCE) records that in his time the cinnamon spice industry was monopolized by the Egyptians and the Phoenicians. [16]

Islam arrived in Kerala, a part of the larger Indian Ocean rim, via spice and silk traders from the Middle East. Historians do not rule out the possibility of Islam being introduced to Kerala as early as the seventh century CE. [17] [18] Notable has been the occurrence of Cheraman Perumal Tajuddin, the Hindu King that moved to Arabia to meet the Islamic prophet Muhammad and converted to Islam. [19] [20] [21] Kerala Muslims are generally referred to as the Mappilas. Mappilas are but one among the many communities that forms the Muslim population of Kerala. [13] [22] According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 AD at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of Chera dynasty, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 570–632). [23] [24] [25] [26] According to Qissat Shakarwati Farmad , the Masjids at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest Masjids in the Indian subcontinent. [27] It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town. [28] According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep islands, situated just to the west of Malabar Coast, by Ubaidullah in 661 CE. His grave is believed to be located on the island of Andrott. [29] A few Umayyad (661–750 AD) coins were discovered from Kothamangalam in the eastern part of Ernakulam district. [30]

The known earliest mention about Muslims of Kerala is in the Quilon Syrian copper plates of the 9th century CE, granted by the ruler of Kollam. [31] A number of foreign accounts have mentioned about the presence of considerable Muslim population in the Malabar Coast. Arab writers such as Al-Masudi of Baghdad (896–956 AD), Muhammad al-Idrisi (1100-1165 AD), Abulfeda (1273-1331 AD), and Al-Dimashqi (1256-1327 AD) mention the Muslim communities in Kerala. [32] Some historians assume that the Mappilas can be considered as the first native, settled Muslim community in South Asia. [25] [33] Al-Biruni (973–1048 CE) appears to be the first writer to call Malabar Coast as Malabar. [34] Authors such as Ibn Khordadbeh and Al-Baladhuri mention Malabar ports in their works. [35] The Arab writers had called this place Malibar, Manibar, Mulibar, and Munibar. Malabar is reminiscent of the word Malanad which means the land of hills. [36] According to William Logan, the word Malabar comes from a combination of the Dravidian word Mala (hill) and the Persian/Arabic word Barr (country/continent). [36] The Kodungallur Mosque, has a granite foundation exhibiting 11th-12th century architectural style. [35] The Arabic inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE. [37] [30] [35]

The Muslims were a major financial power to be reckoned with in the old kingdoms of Kerala and had great political influence in the Hindu royal courts. [38] [39] Travellers have recorded the considerably huge presence of Muslim merchants and settlements of sojourning traders in most of the ports of Kerala. [40] Immigration, intermarriage and missionary activity/conversion — secured by the common interest in the spice trade — helped in this development. [41] [42] Muslim merchant magnates owning ships, spread their shipping and trading business interests across the Indian Ocean. [42] [41] The Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque contains an Old Malayalam inscription written in a mixture of Vatteluttu and Grantha scripts which dates back to the 10th century CE. [43] It is a rare surviving document recording patronage by a Hindu king (Bhaskara Ravi) to the Muslims of Kerala. [43] A 13th century granite inscription, written in a mixture of Old Malayalam and Arabic, at Muchundi Mosque in Kozhikode mentions a donation by the king to the mosque. [44]

The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battutah (14th century) has recorded the considerably huge presence of Muslim merchants and settlements of sojourning traders in most of the ports of Kerala. [10] By the early decades of the 14th century, travellers speak of Calicut (Kozhikode) as the major port city in Kerala. [42] Some of the important administrative positions in the kingdom of Zamorin of Calicut, such as that of the port commissioner, were held by Muslims. [45] The port commissioner, the Shah Bandar, represented commercial interests of the Muslim merchants. In his account, Ibn Battutah mentions Shah Bandars in Calicut as well as Quilon (Ibrahim Shah Bandar and Muhammed Shah Bandar). [10] [45] The Ali Rajas of Arakkal kingdom, based at Kannur, ruled the Lakshadweep Islands. [34] Arabs had the monopoly of trade in Malabar Coast and Indian Ocean until the Portuguese Age of Discovery. [34]

The arrival of the Portuguese traders in Malabar Coast in the late 15th century checked the then well-established and wealthy Muslim community's progress. [46] Following the discovery of sea route from Europe to Malabar in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their territories and ruled the seas between Ormus and the Malabar Coast and south to Ceylon. [47] [48] The Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen written by Zainuddin Makhdoom II (born around 1532) of Ponnani during 16th-century CE is the first-ever known book fully based on the history of Kerala, written by a Keralite. It is written in Arabic and contains pieces of information about the resistance put up by the navy of Kunjali Marakkar alongside the Zamorin of Calicut from 1498 to 1583 against Portuguese attempts to colonize Malabar coast. [49] It was first printed and published in Lisbon. A copy of this edition has been preserved in the library of Al-Azhar University, Cairo. [50] [51] [52] Tuhfatul Mujahideen also describes the history of Mappila Muslim community of Kerala as well as the general condition of Malabar Coast in the 16th century CE. [50] With the end of Portuguese era, Arabs lost their monopoly of trade in Malabar Coast. [34] By the mid-18th century the majority of the Muslims of Kerala became landless labourers, poor fishermen and petty traders, and the community was in "a psychological retreat". [46] The subsequent partisan rule of English East India Company authorities brought the land-less Muslim peasants of Malabar District into a condition of destitution, and this led to a series of uprisings (against the Hindu landlords and British administration). The series of violence eventually exploded as the infamous Mappila Uprising (1921–22). [46] [12]

A large number of Muslims of Kerala found extensive employment in the Persian Gulf countries in the following years (c. 1970s). This widespread participation in the "Gulf Rush" produced huge economic and social benefits for the community. Great influx funds from the earnings of the employed followed. Issues such as widespread poverty, unemployment and educational backwardness began to change. [40]

Politics

Distribution of Muslims in Kerala - District-wise. Distribution of Muslim population in Kerala (2011 Census of India).svg
Distribution of Muslims in Kerala - District-wise.

Politically speaking, Muslims in Kerala have exhibited more unanimity than any other major community in modern-day Kerala. [53]

Christianity

Relationship of the Nasrani groups. Branches & Denominations of Saint Thomas Christians.svg
Relationship of the Nasrani groups.

Christianity is followed by 18.38% of the population of Kerala. [54] The Christianity in Kerala has long traditions from first century AD many of which is similar to the Malabari Jews, [55] the latter has settled in Kerala since the King Solomon. [56] According to traditional accounts, [57] Saint Thomas the Apostle visited Muziris in Kerala in the first century around 52 AD and proselytized some of the then settled Cochin Jewish families [58] [59] and some Upper castes, they became the present "Mar Thoma Suriyani Nasrani" or Saint Thomas Syrian Christians. [60] [61] [62] [63] According to traditional accounts, on the onset of an invasion Thomas is believed to have left northwest India traveled by vessel to the Malabar Coast, possibly visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra en route, and landing at the former flourishing port of Muziris (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor). [59] Evidence such as the Acts of Thomas, one of the first accounts of the life of Thomas, say he died in Northwest India in the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, at the hands of the monarch Misdaeus, thought to be Abdagases I, a viceroy of the Gondopharnes in Sistan, modern day southern Afghanistan. [64] This conclusion is supported by Ephrem the Syrian and his contemporaries, Eusebius and Origen, who testify that Thomas evangelized the Parthians. [65] Modern scholars also support this point of view, and there is no evidence suggesting Thomas was ever in Kerala, or South India in general. [66] [67] According to Knanaya Christians, an endogamous ethnic group found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, their existence in Kerala is traced back to the arrival of the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana (Knāi Thoma) who led a migration of Syriac Christians (Jewish-Christians) from Mesopotamia to India in the 4th or 9th century. [68] [69] [70] The Knanaya claim descent from Thomas of Cana and those who came with him. The communities arrival was recorded on the Thomas of Cana copper plates which existed in Kerala until the 17th century after which point they were taken to Portugal by the Franciscan Order. [71] [72] [73] Before the arrival of Europeans in Kerala there were only Marthoma Nasranis also called as Malankara Syrian Christians due to its historical, religious, and liturgical connection to Syriac Christianity. Marthoma Nasranis remained as an independent group, and they got their bishops from Church of the East until the advent of Portuguese and British colonialists. The first Roman Catholic Diocese in India was founded at Quilon in the year 1329 with the Catalan Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani as first Bishop. [74] The caste system became prevalent in Kerala later than any other parts of India after fourth and fifth century AD. The Nasranis were given special status outside the Varna system. Like Brahmins they were allowed to sit in front of Kings, ride on horse or elephants, to collect taxes. The Marthoma Nasranis back then also has the role of pollution neutralizers i.e., if a lower caste person hand over a substance to a Nasrani and if he in turn gives it to an upper caste, say for example Brahmin, then there would be no pollution for that Brahmin. [75]

The arrival of Europeans in the 15th century and discontent with Portuguese interference in religious matters fomented schism into Catholic and Orthodox communities. Further schism and rearrangements led to the formation of the other Indian Churches. Latin Catholics of Kerala has protracted over eleven centuries and the work of evangelization was revived by the western missionaries in the 13th century. Anglo-Indian Christian communities formed around this time as Europeans and natives intermarried. Protestantism took a stronghold in Kerala with missionary activity during British rule.

Denominations among all Christians in Kerala

  Syro-Malabar (40.2%)
  Syro-Malankara (7.6%)
  Malankara Syrian Orthodox (8.0%)
  Jacobite Syriac Orthodox (7.9%)
  Syrian Marthoma (6.6%)
  Syrian Chaldean (0.43%)
  CSI (4.5%)
  Pentecost (4.3%)
  Dalit Christian (2.6%)
  Latin Catholic (13.2%)
  Others (5.47%)

The 2011 Indian census found a total of 6,411,269 Christians in Kerala, [76] with their various denominations as stated: Saint Thomas Christians (Syro-Malabar Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, CSI Syrian Christians, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Pentecostal Syrian Christians, St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India, Chaldean Syrian Church and Malabar Independent Syrian Church) [77] [78] constituted 70.73% of the Christians of Kerala, followed by Latin Catholics at 13.3%, Pentecostals at 4.3%, CSI at 4.5%, Dalit Christians at 2.6% and other Protestant groups (such as Lutheran, Calvinist and other charismatic churches) at 5.9%.

The Saint Thomas Christians (Nasrani) of Kerala primarily belongs to the churches which use the East Syriac Rite (Syro Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church) and West Syriac Rite (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church). CSI Syrian Christians follow the Anglican rite. Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians, like other Pentecostals, are riteless (nonliturgical). [79] The Saint Thomas Christians form 70.73% of the Christians of Kerala and 12.5% of the total population of Kerala. [80] [81]

St. Mary's Syro Malabar Catholic Basilica - Ernakulam St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Cathedral Basilica, Ernakulam by Augustus Binu.jpg
St. Mary's Syro Malabar Catholic Basilica - Ernakulam

Around 61% of Christians in the state are Catholics which includes the Eastern Syrian Catholics (Syro-Malabar Church and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church) and the Latin Catholics of Kerala. [82] The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church. The Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church is an Oriental Protestant church. The Church of South India belong to the Anglican Communion. Major Pentecostal denominations in Kerala include the India Pentecostal Church of God, Assemblies of God in India, Church of God (Full Gospel) in India, and The Pentecostal Mission. There has been a strong presence of other Protestant groups in southern Kerala such as the Church of South India and The Salvation Army that are typically based on Anglican beliefs and trace their origins to British rule. They have a significant presence in Neyyattinkara taluk and Pathanamthitta district.

In 2023, the BBC reported on the Christian tradition of photographing funerals in Kerala. [83]

Judaism

Judaism arrived in Kerala with spice traders, possibly as early as the 7th century BC. [84] There is no consensus of opinion on the date of the arrival of the first Jews in India. The tradition of the Cochin Jews maintains that after 72 AD, after the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, 10,000 Jews migrated to Kerala. [84]

The only verifiable historical evidence about the Kerala Jews goes back only to the Jewish Copper Plate Grant of Bhaskara Ravi Varman in 1000 AD. [85] This document records the royal gift of rights and privileges to the Jewish Chief of Anjuvannam Joseph Rabban. Later in the 16th century many Jews from Portugal and Spain settled in Cochin. These Jews were called white Jews as opposed to the native black Jews.

The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi Jewish synagouge kochi india.jpg
The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi

The Portuguese did not look favorably on the Jews. They destroyed the Jewish settlement in kodungallur and sacked the Jewish town in Cochin and partially destroyed the famous Cochin Synagogue in 1661. However, the Dutch were more tolerant and allowed the Jews to pursue their normal life and trade in Cochin. According to the testimony of the Dutch Jew, Moses Pereira De Paiva, in 1686 there were 10 synagogues and nearly 500 Jewish families in Cochin. Later Britishers too were tolerant. The Jews were protected. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, most Jews decided to emigrate to Israel. Most of the emigrants to Israel between 1948 and 1955 were from the community of black Jews and brown Jews; they are known as Cochini in Israel. Since the 1960s, only a few hundred Jews (mostly white Jews) remained in Kerala with only two synagogues open for service: the Pardesi Synagogue in Matancherry built in 1567 and the synagogue in Parur.[ citation needed ]

Jainism

Marwari Jain Temple in Kochi Kerala jain temple.jpg
Marwari Jain Temple in Kochi

Jainism, one of the three most ancient Indian religious traditions still in existence, has very small presence (0.01%) in Kerala, in south India. According to the 2011 India Census, Kerala only has around 4500 Jains, most of them in the city of Cochin and in Wayanad district.

Medieval Jain inscriptions are mostly found on the borders of Kerala proper, such Wynad in north-east, Alathur in the Palghat Gap and Chitharal in Kanyakumari District. Epigraphical evidence suggests that the shrine at "Tirukkunavay", perhaps located near Cochin, was the major Jain temple in medieval Kerala (from c. 9th century AD). The so-called "Rules of the Tirukkunavay Temple" provided model and precedent for all other Jain temples of Kerala. [86] A number of images of Mahavira, Padmavati, and Parsvanatha have been recovered from Kerala. [86]

Some of the Jain temples in Kerala were taken over by the Hindus at a later stage. The temple images are worshiped as Hindu gods and considered as part of the Hindu pantheon. It is not uncommon for Hindus and Jains to worship their deities in the same temple. [86]

Buddhism

Buddhism probably flourished for 200 years (650-850) in Kerala. The Paliyam Copper Plate of the Ay King, Varaguna (885-925 AD) [87] shows that the Buddhists benefited from royal patronage in the 10th century.

The religion's popularity declined following the onset of Advaita Vedanta propagated by sage Shankaracharya. [88]

However there remain Buddhist sites and traditions across Kerala.

Parsi (Zoroastrianism)

There were a number of Parsi families settled in Kerala, particularly around Kozhikode and Thalassery area. They practiced Zoroastrianism and even built the 160-year-old dadgah (fire temple) at S. M. Street, Kozhikode which is still in existence. They were mostly wealthy families who immigrated during the 18th century from Gujarat and Bombay. The community included famous families such as the Hirjis or Marshalls. [89] Some famous Malayali Parsis included the reputed Dr. Kobad Mogaseb, who was the first medical doctor from Kozhikode who graduated from London, as well as Kaikose Rudreshan who funded the Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi High School, Thalassery. [90]

Tribal and other religious faiths

Various groups classified as tribes in Kerala still dominate various remote and hilly areas of Kerala. [91] They have retained various rituals and practices of their ancestors despite influences of mainstream religions.

Dinkoism

Dinkoism in a parody religion created by atheist communities in the state, centred around the 'worship' of Dinkan, a mouse superhero from the discontinued children's magazine Balamangalam.

Demographics

Religious Demographics of Kerala (1901-2011) [92] [93] [94]
Census
Year
Hindus Decadal Growth rate (%) Muslims Decadal Growth rate (%) Christians Decadal Growth rate (%)Total
Population
Decadal Growth rate (%)
19014,378,30568.5%N/A1,119,47317.5%N/A891,76713.9%N/A6,389,545100.0%N/A
19114,762,39366.8%+8.771,263,60217.7%+12.871,101,28915.5%+23.507,127,284100.0%+11.55
19215,052,03964.9%+6.081,360,18017.5%+7.641,376,35417.7%+24.987,788,573100.0%+9.28
19316,021,98263.4%+19.201,624,11217.1%+19.401,856,02419.5%+34.859,502,118100.0%+22.00
19416,699,60061.8%+11.251,883,78617.4%+11.602,263,88820.9%+21.9810,847,274100.0%+14.16
19518,344,35161.6%+24.552,374,59817.5%+26.052,825,72020.9%+24.8213,544,669100.0%+24.87
196110,282,56860.9%+23.233,027,63917.9%+27.503,587,36521.2%+26.9516,897,572100.0%+24.75
197112,683,27759.4%+23.354,162,71819.5%+37.494,494,08921.1%+25.2821,340,084100.0%+26.29
198114,801,34758.2%+16.705,409,68721.3%+30.005,233,86520.6%+16.4625,444,899100.0%+19.24
199116,668,58757.3%+12.626,788,35423.3%+25.495,621,51019.3%+7.4129,078,451100.0%+14.28
200117,920,10556.3%+7.517,863,84224.7%+15.846,057,42719.0%+7.7531,841,374100.0%+9.50
201118,282,49254.9%+2.028,873,47226.6%+12.846,141,26918.4%+1.3833,406,061100.0%+4.91
Indicates Least growth rateIndicates Most growth rateSource: Census of India (1901 - 2011)

Religious demographics of Travancore (1816-1941)

Religious Demographics of Travancore (1816-1941)
Census yearTotal population Hindus Christians Muslims
1816 - 1820906,587 [95] 752,371 [95] 82.99%112,158 [95] 12.37%42,058 [95] 4.64%
18812,401,158 [96] 1,755,610 [96] 73.12%498,542 [96] 20.76%146,909 [96] 6.12%
18912,557,736 [97] 1,871,864 [97] 73.18%526,911 [97] 20.60%158,823 [97] 6.21%
19012,952,157 [95] 2,063,798 [95] 69.91%697,387 [95] 23.62%190,566 [95] 6.46%
19113,428,975 [95] 2,298,390 [95] 67.03%903,868 [95] 26.36%226,617 [95] 6.61%
19214,006,062 [95] 2,562,301 [95] 63.96%1,172,934 [95] 29.27%270,478 [95] 6.75%
19315,095,973 [95] 3,137,795 [95] 61.57%1,604,475 [95] 31.46%353,274 [95] 6.93%
19416,070,018 [98] 3,671,480 [98] 60.49%1,963,808 [98] 32.35%434,150 [98] 7.15%

Religious Demographics of Malabar District (1871 - 1951)

Religious Demographics of Malabar District (1871&1951) [99] [100]
Religion 1871 [99] 1951 [100]
1Hinduism72.43%63.25%
2Islam25.72%33.49%
3Christianity1.43%3.24%

Population by religion, per 2011 census

ReligionPopulation%Population below 6 yrs of age [101] %Dist. with highest PopulationDist. with lowest PopulationPopulation growth since 2001
Hindus18,282,49254.731,632,77747.01 Thiruvananthapuram Wayanad 2.23%
Muslims8,873,47226.561,276,10436.74 Malappuram Pathanamthitta 12.84%
Christians6,141,26918.38546,89715.75 Ernakulam Malappuram 1.38%

Population by religion, per 2001 census

ReligionPopulation%Population below 6 yrs of age [4] %Dist. with highest PopulationDist. with lowest PopulationPopulation growth since 1991Children born per women (TFR) [102]
Hindus17,883,44956.21,932,50450.78 Thiruvananthapuram Waynad 7.29%1.64
Muslims7,863,34224.31,178,88030.99 Malappuram Pathanamthitta 15.84%2.46
Christians6,057,42719677,87817.82 Ernakulam Malappuram 7.75%1.88

Population from 2001 and 2011 census, with percentage by religion for each district[ clarification needed ]

DistrictsPopulation(2001)Population(2011)Percent HindusPercent MuslimsPercent Christians
Kasargod 1,203,3421,307,37555.83%37.24%6.68%
Kannur 2,412,3652,523,00359.83%29.43%10.41%
Wayanad 786,627817,42049.48%28.65%21.34%
Kozhikode 2,878,4983,086,29356.21%39.24%4.26%
Malappuram 3,629,6404,112,92027.60%70.24%1.98%
Palakkad 2,617,0722,809,93466.76%28.93%4.07%
Thrissur 2,975,4403,121,20058.42%17.07%24.27%
Ernakulam 3,098,3783,282,38845.99%15.67%38.03%
Idukki 1,128,6051,108,97448.86%7.41%43.42%
Kottayam 1,952,9011,974,55149.81%6.41%43.48%
Alappuzha 2,105,3492,127,78968.64%10.55%20.45%
Pathanamthitta 1,231,5771,197,41256.93%4.59%38.12%
Kollam 2,584,1182,635,37564.42%19.29%15.99%
Thiruvananthapuram 3,234,7073,301,42766.94%13.72%19.10%

[103]

Births by Religion in Kerala in 2019 [5]

   Islam in Kerala (44.35%)
   Hinduism in Kerala (41.04%)
  Others (0.29%)
  Not Stated (0.04%)
Kerala's Percentage Distribution of Live Birth by Religion of the Family [103]
Religion2021 [104]  %2020 [105] %2019%2018 [5]  %2017 [106] %2016 [107]  %2015 [108]  %2014 [109]  %2013 [110]  %2012 [111]  %2011 [112]  %2010 [113]  %2009 [114]  %2008 [115]  %2007 [116]  %2006 [117]  %2005 [118]  %
Muslim169,29640.33%196,13843.89%212,93344.35%213,80543.80%216,52543.00%211,18242.55%213,86541.45%218,43740.87%214,25739.96%175,89231.96%214,09938.21%209,27638.26%204,71137.61%194,58336.32%183,79633.71%196,49335.32%191,67534.28%
Hindu181,39643.21%185,41141.49%197,06141.04%203,15841.61%210,07141.71%207,83141.88%221,22042.87%231,03143.23%236,42044.08%214,59138.99%248,61044.37%246,29745.03%247,70745.51%241,30545.04%250,09445.88%258,11946.40%262,97647.04%
Christian59,76614.24%62,26513.93%68,59614.28%69,84414.31%75,33514.96%76,20515.35%79,56515.42%83,61615.65%84,66015.78%102,54618.63%94,66416.90%88,93616.26%90,45116.62%94,17517.58%98,22018.02%96,46917.34%98,35317.59%
Others9,1432.18%2,9670.66%14080.29%1,2140.25%1,4970.30%8520.18%9330.18%1,1780.22%8690.16%57,21510.39%2,6710.48%6510.12%7040.13%5,1510.96%6,1081.12%1,5450.28%1,0980.19%
Not Stated1660.04%1100.02%1150.04%1530.03%1600.03%2220.04%4300.08%1960.03%1460.02%1670.03%2240.04%1,8060.33%7750.14%5240.10%6,9361.27%3,7000.66%4,9800.89%
Total419,767100%446,891100%480,113100%488,174100%503,588100%496,292100%516,013100%534,458100%536,352100%550,411100%560,268100%546,964100%544,348100%535,738100%545,154100%556,326100%559,082100%

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernakulam district</span> District in Kerala, India

Ernakulam is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part of the state, spans an area of about 2,924 square kilometres (1,129 sq mi), and is home to over 9% of Kerala's population. Its headquarters are located at Kakkanad. The district includes Kochi, also known as the commercial capital of Kerala, which is famous for its ancient churches, Hindu temples, synagogues and mosques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Thomas Christians</span> Indian ethnoreligious group

The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani, Malankara Nasrani, or Nasrani Mappila, are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala, who, for the most part, employ the Eastern and Western liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. They trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The Saint Thomas Christians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the Church of the East but are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are Malayalis and their mother tongue is Malayalam, which is a Dravidian language. Nasrani or Nazarene is a Syriac term for Christians, who were among the first converts to Christianity in the Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mar Thoma Syrian Church</span> Church based in the Indian state of Kerala.

The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian Church and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, is an autonomous Oriental Protestant Christian church based in Kerala, India. While continuing many of the Syriac high church practices, the church is Protestant in its theology and doctrines. It employs a reformed variant of the West Syriac Rite Divine Liturgy of Saint James, translated to Malayalam.

The Malayali people are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They form the majority of the population in Kerala and Lakshadweep. They are predominantly native speakers of the Malayalam language, one of the six classical languages of India. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, since the 1800s existed the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Travancore, Malabar District, and South Canara of the British India. The Malabar District was annexed by the British through the Third Mysore War (1790–92) from Tipu Sultan. Before that, the Malabar District was under various kingdoms including the Zamorins of Calicut, Kingdom of Tanur, Arakkal kingdom, Kolathunadu, Valluvanad, and Palakkad Rajas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muvattupuzha</span> Municipality in Kerala, India

Muvattupuzha is a town, municipality in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about 36 km (22 mi) from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting point of the Muvattupuzhayar, which is a confluence formed by three rivers: the Thodupuzhayar, Kaliyar, and Kothayar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mappila Muslims</span> Muslim community

Mappila Muslim, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same name found predominantly in Kerala and Lakshadweep Islands, in southern India. Muslims of Kerala make up 26.56% of the population of the state (2011), and as a religious group they are the second largest group after Hindus (54.73%). Mappilas share the common language of Malayalam with the other religious communities of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in India</span> Type of religion in India

Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 26 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of Saint Thomas Christians mention that Christianity was introduced to the Indian subcontinent by Thomas the Apostle, who sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD.

The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as' (Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of Eastern Africa and the Far East. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Kerala</span> Culture and traditions of Kerala

The culture of Kerala has developed over the past millennia, influences from other parts of India and abroad. It is defined by its antiquity and the organic continuity sustained by the Malayali people. Modern Kerala society took shape owing to migrations from different parts of India and abroad throughout Classical Antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Kerala</span>

Kerala is a state in south-western India. Most of Kerala's 34.8 million people are ethnically Malayalis. Most of the Malayalam and English speaking Keralites derive their ancestry from Dravidian communities that settled in Kerala. Additional ancestries derive from millennia of trade links across the Arabian Sea, whereby people of Arab, Jewish, Syrian, Portuguese, English and other ethnicities settled in Kerala. Many of these immigrants intermarried with native Malayalam speakers resulting in formation of many Muslim and Christian groups in Kerala. Some Muslims and Christians thus take lineage from Middle Eastern and European settlers who mixed with native population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur district</span> District in Kerala, India

Thrissur, anglicised as Trichur, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi), the district is home to over 9% of Kerala's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Kerala</span> Overview of Islam in the Indian state of Kerala

Islam arrived in Kerala, the Malayalam-speaking region in the south-western tip of India, through Middle Eastern merchants. The Indian coast has an ancient relation with West Asia and the Middle East, even during the pre-Islamic period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syrian churches of Kerala</span>

This article lists the various old and ancient churches that exist among the Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobite Syrian Christian Church</span> Malankara body of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, is a Maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch based in Kerala, India and part of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East as supreme head of the church. It functions autonomously within the church as an Archdiocese, administered by the Metropolitan Trustee, under the authority of the Maphrian of India, Baselios Thomas I. Following schism with the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, it is currently the only church in Malankara that is under the administrative supervision of Syriac Orthodox Church. The church employs the West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Kerala</span> Third-largest practiced religion in Kerala

Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census. According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally much larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Kerala</span>

The population of Kerala, India is a heterogenous group that comprises many ethnic groups that originated in other parts of India as well as the world, with distinctive cultural and religious traditions. While the majority of Keralites speak the Malayalam language, various ethnic groups may speak other languages as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Malabar</span> Geographical / Historical Area in India

North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara and Koyilandy in the Kozhikode District of Kerala and the entire Mahé Sub-Division of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Traditionally North Malabar has been defined as the northern portion of the erstwhile Malabar District which lies between Chandragiri River and Korapuzha River. The region between Netravathi River and Chandragiri River, which included the portions between Mangalore and Kasaragod, are also often included in the term North Malabar, as the Kumbla dynasty in the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu, had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churches of Kerala</span>

Most churches in Kerala follow the tradition of Syrian Christians, known as Saint Thomas Christians. The remainder of religious people in Kerala are Latin Catholics, or part of a minority of Protestant Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Thomas Christian denominations</span>

The Saint Thomas Christian denominations are Christian denominations from Kerala, India, which traditionally trace their ultimate origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" as well. The Syriac term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. It is part of the Eastern Christianity institution.

The town of Muvattupuzha in Kerala, India contains places of worship for Hindus, Syrian Christians and Mappila Muslims.

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