Dishes on display at a food stall at a vegetarian food festival in Bengaluru.
Dishes on display at a food stall at a vegetarian food festival in Bengaluru. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)

All of India's well-nigh widely expert religions have dietary laws and traditions. For example, Hindu texts often praise vegetarianism, and Hindus may likewise avoid eating beef because cows are traditionally viewed as sacred. Muslim teachings, meanwhile, prohibit pork.

The vast majority of Indian adults (81%) follow some restrictions on meat in their nutrition, including refraining from eating certain meats, not eating meat on sure days, or both. Nevertheless, almost Indians do not abstain from meat birthday – but 39% of Indian adults describe themselves as "vegetarian," co-ordinate to a new Pew Research Middle survey. (While there are many ways to ascertain "vegetarian" in India, the survey left the definition up to the respondent.)

A bar chart showing majorities in all of India's religious groups follow at least some restrictions on meat in their diet

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better empathize how dietary laws and traditions in India are tied to religious identities, beliefs and attitudes. It is based on the 2021 report "Organized religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation," the Eye'southward most comprehensive, in-depth exploration of Indian public opinion to date. For this study, we completed 29,999 face-to-face interviews in 17 languages with adults ages 18 and older living in 26 Indian states and 3 spousal relationship territories. The sample included interviews with 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, ane,011 Christians, 719 Buddhists and 109 Jains. An additional 67 respondents belong to other religions or are religiously unaffiliated. Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

Respondents were selected using a probability-based sample design that would allow for robust assay of all major religious groups in India, as well as all major regional zones. Half dozen groups were targeted for oversampling every bit part of the survey design: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and those living in the Northeast region. Data was weighted to account for the different probabilities of selection amidst respondents and to marshal with demographic benchmarks for the Indian adult population from the 2011 census.

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology.

Amongst India's six largest religious groups, some are much more likely than others to abstain from meat. For instance, the vast majority of Jains say they are vegetarian (92%), compared with simply 8% of Muslims and ten% of Christians. Hindus fall in between (44%).

Yet, fifty-fifty among groups with low rates of vegetarianism, many Indians restrict their meat consumption. For example, roughly 2-thirds of Muslims (67%) and Christians (66%) avert meat in some way, such every bit refraining from eating sure meats, non eating meat on certain days, or both. Among Hindus, in addition to the 44% who are vegetarian, some other 39% follow another restriction on meat consumption.

Many Jains avoid non just meat simply also root vegetables to avoid destroying the unabridged found, which is seen as a form of violence in Jain theology. Well-nigh two-thirds of Jains (67%) say they abjure from eating root vegetables such as garlic and onions (staples in many Indian cuisines). Even amongst Hindus and Sikhs, roughly i-in-five say they practise non consume root vegetables (21% and xviii%, respectively). Hindu vegetarians are about evenly divided between those who consume root vegetables and those who do non.

Fasting is some other common dietary do in Republic of india. About 3-quarters of Indians overall (77%) fast, including well-nigh eight-in-ten or more among Muslims (85%), Jains (84%) and Hindus (79%). Smaller majorities of Christians and Buddhists fast (64% and 61%, respectively), while Sikhs are the least likely to fast (28%).

Religious groups in Bharat fast to mark different occasions. Muslims, for case, fast during the month of Ramadan each year, while other Indians fast on sure days of the week and to marker important life events. Hindus, especially in the South, may fast earlier every Skanda Sashti – a twenty-four hour period devoted to Skanda, the god of war.

In addition to asking nearly personal dietary habits, the survey asked whether respondents would ever eat nutrient in the domicile of someone – or at a office hosted by people – whose religion has different rules about food than their own. Overall, Indians are evenly split on these questions, but there are wide variations by group.

A bar chart showing Muslim, Christian, Buddhist vegetarians most flexible about where they eat

Roughly a quarter of Jains say they would swallow in a home (24%) or at a function (27%) where the host's religious rules near nutrient differ from their own, while slightly fewer than one-half of India'south Hindus and Sikhs say the same. In contrast, six-in-x or more Buddhists, Muslims and Christians would be willing to eat at a identify with unlike rules near food.

At that place is a similar pattern when asking vegetarians about eating in dissimilar situations. Vegetarian Jains are the least likely to say they would ever consume nutrient in a restaurant that serves both non-vegetarian and vegetarian food or in the home of a friend who is not vegetarian. In contrast, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians are the most likely to say this. Hindu and Sikh vegetarians, meanwhile, fall somewhere in the centre, with three-in-ten or more proverb they would ever eat nutrient in these non-vegetarian settings.

Not merely do religious dietary traditions impact Indians' day-t0-twenty-four hour period lives, but they also influence concepts of religious identity and belonging.

A bar chart showing many Indians view dietary restrictions as essential to religious identity

In fact, Indian adults are more often than not more likely to say that following dietary restrictions is a requirement for religious identity than to say that conventionalities in God and prayer are essential. For instance, 72% of Hindus say someone cannot be Hindu if they eat beef, just fewer express the aforementioned sentiment about someone who does not believe in God (49%) or never prays (48%).

Amid Muslims, Sikhs and Jains, even greater shares say that following dietary rules is essential to religious identity: 77% of Muslims say a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, compared with smaller shares who say this well-nigh a person who does not believe in God (60%) or never prays (67%). More than than eight-in-ten Sikhs (82%) and Jains (85%) say that a person cannot exist truly a member of their religion if they consume beef. Buddhists are split on the issue, with about half expressing that someone cannot be a Buddhist if they eat beef. (Christians were non asked about eating meat and Christian identity.)

Note: Hither are the questions used for this study, along with responses, and its methodology.

Manolo Corichi is a inquiry assistant focusing on religion inquiry at Pew Enquiry Center.