Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, Epics etc and was the main scene of activities of the Buddha and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras. The hermitages of ancient monastic orders cluster in the plains and hill sides. The teachings of Buddha and Mahavira, deeply engraved in the enduring ruins and relics ring down the corridors of time. Religion is ever present in the daily life of the people.

The Hindus are the largest religious community in Bihar. Hindu piety involves rituals and ceremonies, celebrating festivals, making pilgrimages, building temples, reading the Ramayana and chanting the Gayatri Mantra. There are a huge number of temples in Bihar.

The Hinduism of the masses is chiefly characterized by polytheism which has given rise to many cults such as Shakta, Shaivism, Vaishnavism etc. Each cult and sect has its own special gods or goddesses, but all combine to revere other deities of the Hindu pantheon and join in their worship.

The working religion of the peasant's everyday life consists of the propitiation of his 'Ishta Devata' (favourite deity), ghosts (bhuts) and spirits (prets), in order that they may not afflict their worshippers or may grant them material blessings. The primitive propitiation of evil spirits and god lings and the worship of the Hindu gods go on side by side and quite often the same men make offerings to both. Besides Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga, one of the most important local deity is the elephant headed god, Ganesha. Ritualistic greeting of the rising sun and the ceremonial morning and the evening ablutions are widely observed by all devout Brahmins.

Hindus believe in karma, image worship, rebirth and fatalism. Worship in the temples is done by Brahmin priests. He recites the mantras and makes the offerings for the worshipper. The priests have a considerable hold over the people especially in the rural areas. Their advice is sought when a difficulty arises, usually by the women. There are countless grotesque and degrading superstitions in which so many of the peasants and labourers still seek priesthood. The priests hope by these means to retain their hold on masses and even the more educated and liberal minded among them do little actively to combat such beliefs.

Hinduism in Bihar is a religion of caste rules and usages. Its sanctions are ultimately social, its laws immemorial group customs and its tribunal the committee of the fraternity, it presents itself to the ordinary man not as a statement of the eternal principles of morality, but as a formidable code of etiquette ruling the details of his personal life. He finds himself greatly concerned that he should not marry a woman not belonging to his caste or dine with a man not of his own community, he should not help the wrong man or entertain vague caste prejudices against the right one. Bihar is known for its factionalism, while others think of themselves as Bengalis or Punjabis, Parsis or Muslims, in Bihar their compatriots think of themselves only as Bhumihars, Rajputs, Kayasthas or Maithil Brahmins. Hinduism offers them the hope of salvation from the hard life they lead.

TheThe lying down budha modern districts of Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad, Nalanda and Patna may be described as the holy land of Buddhism. These districts contain a fairly large number of places associated with the life and teachings of Buddha, the great founder of Buddhism. It was at Gaya that Gautama spent long years of penance and meditation before he finally attained Nirvana. It was to Gaya that he turned at an early stage in his search of truth. The tree under which he attained enlightenment thus became most sacred to Buddhists and worship has consequently centred it from the earliest period of Buddhism. Bihar became the last refuge of Buddhism in northern India up to the time of the Mohammedan conquest. The Biharis still revere the Buddha today just as deeply as they honour Krishna, Rama, Shankara, Ramanuja, Kabir (poet) and Nanak (Sikh guru). They honour him as an avatar.

Jains in Bihar are the followers of the Tirthankaras. Vardhamana Mahavira, their last Tirthankara was born about the middle of the sixth century B.C. at Kundagrama near Vaishali, about 27 miles north of Patna, in Bihar. Vardhamana Mahavira renounced the world and became an ascetic. He lived a life of extreme self-mortification under a shala tree on the banks of the river, Rijupalika, where he achieved the state called nirvana or Kaivalya. He was acclaimed as a Kevalin (supreme omniscient), jina (conqueror), arhat (blessed one) and Tirthankara (ford-finder). In a long wandering life of 42 years in north and south Bihar, he gathered a considerable following of monks known as Nirgrathas, or men who discarded all social bonds who after Mahavira's death became known as Jains.

The Jains believe God as such does not exist. A liberated soul, that of a prophet or Jinas is god. Absolute truth comes only to these periodic Redeemers. The universe-plants, animals and human is a plurality of Jivas, all subject to the cosmic process of Karma and rebirth. One can free oneself through austerity and penance. Mahavira breathed his last at a place called Pavapuri near Patna. A large number of Jain monks too died on the famous Parasnath, a mountain take its name from the twenty-third Jain Tirthankara.

Patna was the birth place of Gobind Singh, the tenth and last guru of the Sikh brotherhood and the site where the Guru was born is marked by a temple containing his cradle and shoes. It was Guru Gobind Singh who gave the present militaristic form and character to the originally pacifist Sikh religion.

Religion plays an important part in the life of tribals. Their belief in gods and goddesses, in bhuts and spirits is engrained in them from their childhood. The worship of these supernatural beings is supposed to protect them from all evils and calamities, both natural and supernatural enhance the fertility of their community, domestic animals and agricultural fields. Religion also serves to engender and strengthen group consciousness and solidarity among them.

Every tribal village has in one of its corners a sacred grove called Jaher or sarma. The village has a priest, he is known variously as the pathan, the deuri, the naik, the kelo and so on. It is he who performs all worship on behalf of the whole village. He is chosen from among the most ancient families of the village for a term which varied from tribe to tribe and place to place. He is held in high esteem by the villagers and enjoys manifold privileges.

People living in tribal villages have a deep-rooted faith in evil spirits, demons and witches. This accounts for the prestigious position held by spirit doctors in tribal villages. They are popularly known as Mati or Ohja. These spirit doctors are believed to cure people of the diseases and miseries caused by malevolent spirits. They are also regarded as physicians possessing knowledge of medicinal herbs and capable of curing the diseased by means of herbs as well as magical incantations.