Bengalis are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Today, approximately 68% are adherents of Islam with a large Hindu minority and sizeable communities of Christians and Buddhists. Bengali Muslims, who live mainly in Bangladesh, primarily belong to the Sunni denomination. Bengali Hindus, who live primarily in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, generally follow Shaktism or Vaishnavism, in addition to worshipping regional deities.[23][24][25] There also exist small numbers of Bengali Christians, a large number of whom are descendants of Portuguese voyagers, as well as Bengali Buddhists, the bulk of whom belong to the Bengali-speaking Barua group in Chittagong and Rakhine (who should not be confused with other Buddhists of Bangladesh that belong to different ethnic groups).
Like every large culture group in history, Bengalis have greatly influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and architecture, language, folklore, literature, politics, military, business, science and technology.
^Datta, Romita (13 November 2020). "The great Hindu vote trick". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2022. Hindus add up to about 70 million in Bengal's 100 million population, of which around 55 million are Bengalis.
^Khan, Mojlum (2013). The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Kube Publishing Ltd. p. 2. ISBN978-1-84774-052-6. Bengali-speaking Muslims as a group consists of around 200 million people.
^McDermott, Rachel Fell (2005). "Bengali religions". In Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA. p. 826. ISBN0-02-865735-7.