Rohit Singh was born into a Hindu family, but he doesn't identify as religious. The 24-year-old does, however, occasionally go to the local temple as well as gurudwara, a place of worship and assembly in Sikhism.

Singh also believes in astrology, and this month joined his cousins on the Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Lord Shiva, one of the three major Hindu deities revered in India.

"I am not religious, I am spiritual," he told DW. "I don't go to the temple as frequently as my parents, I go sometimes for the calm and peaceful vibe. I started going when I was unable to find a job and my mental health was at its worst."

The resident of Gurugram, a tech and finance hub just outside the capital, New Delhi, still hasn't found a job. But he says his spirituality has helped his mental health.

"A lot of my friends are like me. We just want some solace," he says.

Interest in religion is declining worldwide. A study by Pew Research Center showed that religious affiliation fell globally by 1% in the decade spanning 2010 to 2020. In the same period, the percentage of people who showed no religious affiliation grew from 23% to 24.2%.

But in India, it's a different story.

In the same Pew study, the global population of Hindus — 95% of whom live in India, where they form 80% of the........

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