Indian States By Number Of Places Of Worship

India is the birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, all religions with millions of followers worldwide. India is also home to millions of believers of other faiths like Islam, Christianity, Jewish, and others.  As such, it is only natural that the country houses a large number of places of worship of people of different faiths. Indians are known to be quite religious and visiting the places of worship is an integral part of the lives of many Indians. 

Being a secular nation, Indians are allowed to practice their own religion with full freedom. Freedom of religion is one of the fundamental rights granted to Indian citizens by the Indian Constitution. Thus, the cities and villages of India are dotted with an innumerable number of religious sites like Hindu temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, Buddhist monasteries, Jain temples, synagogues, and more. 

Here is a list of Indian states arranged by the number of places of worship:

Uttar Pradesh: The State With The Highest Number Of Places Of Worship

There are several reasons why Uttar Pradesh ranks the highest among Indian states in the number of places of worship. It is India’s most populous state. The state also hosts the largest population of Hindus and Muslims in India. People of several other faiths also reside in Varanasi. Uttar Pradesh is also home to some of the most revered and holy sites of Hinduism like the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi and the Kumbh Mela grounds in Allahabad that are visited by millions of tourists from all over the world. The state also is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna, one of the most revered and loved deities of Hinduism. Mathura, Vrindavan, and Gokul are cities in Uttar Pradesh that are associated with Lord Krishna. The state also hosts several Buddhist pilgrimage sites of great importance like the Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, and others associated with visits by the Lord Buddha. Hastinapur, Deogarh are some places in Uttar Pradesh that are considered to be Jain religious sites.

The state also houses some grand mosques and other sites associated with Islam. Some of the cities, town, and villages in Uttar Pradesh are centuries old and was annexed by several different empires of Indian history. These rulers built some impressive places of worship to exhibit their power and wealth. Thus, for all the above reasons, Uttar Pradesh is today home to the largest number of places of worship.

Sikkim: The State With The Lowest Number Of Places Of Worship

Sikkim is India’s least populous and second smallest state and these facts are responsible for the lower number of places of worship in the state. The state has a Hindu majority while Buddhism is the second most popular religion in the state. The Kirateshwar Mahadev Temple of Sikkim is the most popular Hindu temple in the state. There are also 75 Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim with the oldest dating back to the 18th century. Sikkim lies completely within the Himalayan ranges and hence the mountainous terrain of the state also makes many places inaccessible to the common man. Thus, the terrain of the state could also contribute to the less number of religious sites in the states.

The States Of North-East India

As visible from the data, the north-east Indian states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Sikkim all have a low number of religious sites. Only Assam has a relatively higher number of places of worship. The above result could be due to the relatively small sizes and populations of the north-eastern states and also the tribal culture and mountainous terrain prevalent in some or all of these states. 

West Bengal: The State With The Second Highest Number Of Places Of Worship: A Question That Remains

Although West Bengal is the 14th largest state and fourth most populous state in India, it still has the second highest number of places of worship in the country. Thus, the number of religious sites in the state can neither be explained by the population and nor by the size of the state. This could simply imply that the population of the state is more religious in nature. However, substantial data pointing to this fact do not exist. The state is also home to a great diversity of people of different religious faiths. Hinduism is the religion of majority while the Muslim population in West Bengal is also quite high. The state also has a significant Buddhist population living in the northern mountainous areas. Further analysis is needed to explain the high number of religious places in West Bengal but supportive data is lacking.