linguistic:paraphrasing
Religion

The religious practices of Adivasi communities mostly resemble various shades of Hinduism. In the census of India from 1871 to 1941, tribal people and their religions were described in several ways: forest tribe (1891); animist (1901); tribal animist (1911); hill and forest tribe (1921); primitive tribe (1931); and tribes (1941). However, since the census of 1951, the tribal population has been recorded separately. Many Adivasis have been converted into Christianity during British period and after independence. During the last two decades Adivasi from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand have converted to Protestant groups as a result of increased missionaries presence.

Adivasi beliefs vary by tribe, and are usually different from the historical Vedic religion, with its monistic underpinnings, Indo-European deities (who are often cognates of ancient Iranian, Greek and Roman deities, e.g. Mitra / Mithra / Mithras), lack of idol worship and lack of a concept of reincarnation.