The chief Indian religions with the numbers of their followers according to the census of 1901 are: Hindu (207,147,026), Mahommedan (62,458,077), Buddhist (9,476,759), Sikh (2,195,339), Jain (1,334,148), Christian (2,923,241), Parsee (94,190), and Animist (8,584,148). The oldest of these religions is Animism (q.v.), which represents the beginnings of religion in India, and is still professed by the more primitive tribes, such as Santals, Bhils and Gonds. The transition from this crude form of religion to popular Hinduism (q.v.) is comparatively easy. The most obvious characteristics of the ordinary Hindu are that he worships a plurality of gods, looks upon the cow as a sacred animal, and accepts the Brahmanical supremacy (see BRAHMANISM) and the caste system; and when it is a question whether one of the animistic tribes has or has not entered the fold of Hinduism, these two latter points seem to be the proper test to apply. On the other hand there are various offshoots from orthodox Hinduism, the distinguishing feature of which, in their earlier history at least, is the obliteration of caste distinctions and the rejection of the Brahmanical hierarchy. It is doubtful if Buddhism, and still more so if Jainism and Sikhism, all of which are commonly recognized as distinct religions, ever differed from Hinduism to a greater extent than did the tenets of the earlier followers of Chaitanya in Bengal or those of the Lingayats in Mysore; and yet these latter two are regarded only as sects of Hinduism. Considerations of their history and past political importance have led to the elevation of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to the rank of independent religions, while the numerous other schismatic bodies are held to be only sects. But there is a marked tendency both on the part of the sects and of the distinct religions to lapse into the parent religion from which they sprang. In this way both Buddhism (q.v.) and Jains (q.v.) have almost been swallowed up by Hinduism; Sikhism (q.v.) is only preserved by the military requirements of the British, and even the antagonism between Hindu and Mahommedan is much less acute than it used to be. The bewildering diversity of religious beliefs collected under the name of Hinduism has no counterpart amongst the Mahommedans (see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION), who are limited as to their main tenets by the teaching of a single book, the Koran. The two main sects are the Sunnis and the Shiahs. In India the Sunnis greatly preponderate, but they usually share with the Shiahs their veneration for Hasan and Husain and strictly observe the Mohurrum.