Irreligion in India

Atheism and agnosticism have a long history in India and flourished within the Sramana movement. Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism and some schools of Hinduism consider atheism to be acceptable. India has produced some notable atheist politicians and social reformers. According to 2011 Census of India, 99.76% of Indians are religious while 0.24% did not state their religious identity. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, 81% of Indians were religious, 13% were not religious, 3% were convinced atheists, and 3% were unsure or did not respond.

In Hinduism, the religion of majority of Indians, atheism is considered to be a valid path to spirituality, as it can be argued that God can manifest in several forms with "no form" being one of them. But, the path is considered difficult to follow. The belief in a personal creator God is not required in Jainism and Buddhism, both of which also originated in the Indian subcontinent. Atheistic schools are also found in Hinduism.

Hindu philosophy is divided into schools (darśanam). These schools can be categorised as āstika (orthodox), schools which conforms to the Vedas, and nāstika (heterodox), schools reject the Vedas. The six schools Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Mimāṃsā and Vedānta are considered āstika (orthodox), while Jainism, Buddhism, Cārvāka and Ājīvika are considered nāstika (heterodox).

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