hmm..maybe it is semantics but i tend to agree more with coffeejunkii; esp. for hinduism. it's not really, imo, a "by the book" religion. there are no specific practices you should follow that classify you as religious or not (atleast that's how i was raised and it's certainly true for many folks from a similar socio-economic background as mine) so i can definitely see someone such as the patils, even if they classified as hindus, not being religious or having religion play an important role in their lives.

i guess i would say that it doesn't ring true to me that someone who was born and raised in india, is most likely religious. especially not in the same vein as wook is suggesting is true for catholicism and ireland. there is quite a strong anti-religious political movement in india. given how vastly different individual states within the country are, that makes that correlation appear very weak to me.