 Most of the people are Hindus, followed by Christians and Muslims.To a lesser extent, there are Jain and Buddhists.The name Nileshwa is derived from the name of a temple Thaliyil Siva Temple (Neelakanteshwaran), and the culture of the town is based in large part by its temples, like Thaliyil Siva Temple, Mannam Purath Kaavu, Shri Gopalakrishna Temple and Vaikunda Temple.