Chennai is religiously cosmopolitan, with its denizens following various religions, chief among them beingHinduism,Islam,Christianity,Sikhism,Jainism,Buddhism, andZoroastrianism. Chennai, along withMumbai,Delhi,Kochi, andKolkata, is one of the few Indian cities that are home to a diverse population of ethno-religious communities.^[2]

With the majority of the people in India following Hinduism, Chennai, like other Indian cities, is home to more Hindus than any other religion. Chennai has centres of worship for a multitude of faiths. According to 2001 census, majority of the population are Hindus (81.3 percent), Muslims (9.4 percent), Christians (7.6 percent), Jains (1.1 percent), Sikhs (0.06 percent), and Buddhists (0.04 percent).^[3]

Hinduism is the native faith of Chennai. The origin of Hinduism in the city dates back to antiquity. The temple towns ofMylapore,Triplicane,Thiruvottiyur,Saidapet andThiruvanmiyur, which are now part of Chennai city, had been visited by the Saivite saints calledNayanmars and Vaishnavite saints calledAlvars. The saintVayilar Nayanar was born and brought up in Mylapore.Sambandar gives a physical description of Mylapore in his hymns:

In Mylapore of beautiful groves,
The waves creep up to the shore and then dance on it
As do the fisherfolk who spear the many fish in the waters,
Kapaleeswaram in its plenty celebrates the Thiruvadhirai festival,
Is it done for you to miss this excitement, Poompavai? (English translation)

andThirumangai Alvar gives description of Thiruvallikeni in his hymns as:

The Vedas, the essence off vedas, which the Saints read
Hail you as Paramatma
The one without start and end and the god of Gods
Highly respected women who cannot be compared in their qualities live here
I saw this Mada-Maa Mayilai Thiruvaallikeni ( English Translation )

The early dubashes or Indian merchants who worked for theBritish East India Company were devout Hindus. TheChennakesava Perumal Temple, considered to be the chief Hindu temple of Madraspatnam and first to be built since the founding of the city in 1640, was constructed by the dubashBeri Thimappa in 1646. Chennai is also an important centre of theRamakrishna Order whose oldest institution theSri Ramakrishna Math was founded in Chennai in May 1897. According to a 1981 estimate, there were about 600 Hindu temples in Chennai,^[4] including the Chennakesava Perumal Temple,Chenna Mallesvarar Temple,Kapaleeswarar Temple,Parthasarathy Temple,Vadapalani Andavar Temple,Ashtalakshmi Kovil,Kalikambal Temple and theThiruvalluvar Temple.

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  Bakthavathsala Perumal Temple,Tirunindravur
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  Kapaleeshwarar Temple,Mylapore
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  Vadapalani Murugan Temple,Vadapalani
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  Sri Ramakrishna Mutt,Mylapore

Recorded presence of Muslims in Chennai dates from the 9th century CE onwards. The oldest known mosques in Madras – the ones at Pulicat and Kovalam – were built in the 10th century CE. BothMarco Polo in the 13th century andDuarte Barbosa in the 16th century record thatSt. Thomas was venerated by Christians as well as Muslims of Madras. Muslims living in the city have varied cultural and historical origins and are currently the second largest religious community of Chennai,^[5] accounting for around 9.4 percent of the population according to the 2001 census. An overwhelming majority of Chennai Muslims belong to theSunni sect andShia sect minority does exist. Majority ofMuslims in Tamil Nadu are native Tamil speakers whileDakhini, a dialect of Urdu, is spoken by aminority. Others speak other languages.

Christianity was introduced in Chennai by theChristian apostleSt. Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the city between the years 52 CE and 70 CE.^[6][7][8] St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles ofJesus Christ, was martyred inSt. Thomas Mount in the southern part of the city and was buried inMylapore.^[9][10] San Thome Basilica, one of the earliest churches in the city, was built in 1523 by Portuguese explorers, over the supposed tomb of St. Thomas.^[11] The city has one of the highest population of Christians among major Indian cities, accounting for 7.6 percent of the city's population. TheRoman Catholic Church plays a major role in Chennai's Christian population.

The earliest arrival of Sikhs in the city is not known officially as there are no records. However, the migration is said to have been consistent before, during, and after thepartition of India. As of 2012, there were about 300 Sikh families residing in the city, which increased to about 500 odd families by 2019.^[12] Agurudwara is located behind theTeynampet Congress Grounds. Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha, established in 1949, is a centre for social, religious and spiritual activities and is a common point for the Sikh families in the city to converge during special occasions and festivals.^[13]

Jainism was one of the oldest religions of Chennai and, alongside Buddhism, was introduced in the pre-Christian era. There are both North-Indian andTamil Jains in the city, although the former outnumber the latter. There are about 100 Jain temples in the city built by the North-Indian Jains, whereas there are only 18 Tamil Jain temples catering to roughly 1,500 Tamil Jain families.^[14] The Adheeshwar Jain temple inPuzhal, dedicated to Adi Bhagwan, Adeeswar, Adinath, Adi Jain, and Rishabhadev, is believed to be of 1st century BCE.^[15][16]George Town has the greatest share of Jain temples in the city. A North-Indian-styled Jain temple was built at Adhiyappa Naicken Street in 1899. There are two more Jain temples onMint Street. The Shantinath temple inT. Nagar is aSwetambar Jain temple. Other Jain temples include those inChintadripet andVepery.

Buddhism is another ancient religion of Chennai introduced in the pre-Christian era. The city's only Buddhist temple, theSri Lanka Maha Bodhi Centre, is located atEgmore.

Parsis first arrived in the city in 1809 fromCoorg when the ruling King's brother sent a deputation to the Governor ofFort St. George to deliver a picture. Hirijibhai Maneckji Kharas was the first Parsi to land in the city, who was accompanied by five other Parsis and two priests who bought land atRoyapuram opposite the Catholic Church. By 1900s, the Parsis established themselves well in the city, dealing in cars, cycles, perfumes and dyes. The first Iranis came to Madras around 1900 and soon became known for their Irani cafes and also established or managed theatres. There was no official priest in the community for over 100 years till 1906. There was no place of worship until theRoyapuram fire temple was built in 1909.^[17] As of 2010, there were about 250 Parsis in Chennai. Many of them live inRoyapuram.^[18]

Paradesi Jews immigrated to theIndian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following theexpulsion of Jews from Spain.^[19] TheseSephardic (from Spain and Portugal) immigrants fledpersecution anddeath by burning in the wake of the 1492Alhambra decree expelling all Jews who did not convert to Christianity from Spain, andKing Manuel's 1496 decree expelling Jews from Portugal.^[20]

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Paradesi Jews wereSephardi immigrants to theIndian subcontinent fromJewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries^[21][22] fleeingforcible conversion,persecution andantisemitism.^[20] Paradesi Jews of Madras traded inGolconda diamonds, precious stones and corals. They had very good relations with the rulers ofGolkonda, because they maintained trade connections to some foreign countries (e.g. Ottoman empire, Europe), and their language skills were useful. Although the Sephardim spokeLadino (i.e. Judeo-Spanish), in India they learnedTamil andKonkani as well asJudeo-Malayalam from the Cochin Jews, also known asMalabar Jews.^{[23][full citation needed]} After India gained its independence in 1947 and Israel was established as a nation, most of the Paradesi Jews preferred to migrate to Australia and otherCommonwealth countries, similar to the choices made byAnglo-Indians.^[24] The millennia-long history of Indian Jews was marked by a total absence ofantisemitism from theHindu majority and a visible assimilation in the local languages and cultures.^[25] The Paradesi Jews built theParadesi synagogues andcemeteries in the city.

Chennai is the international base of theTheosophical Society, a spiritual organisation dedicated to the study of world religions and inter-faith dialogue. Since 1882, Chennai has been the headquarters of the Theosophical Society.^[26]

• History of Chennai
• Demographics of Chennai
• Religion in India

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• Religion in Tamil Nadu
• Culture of Chennai

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