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The Syro-Malankara rite is drawn from the same West Syrian tradition as the Maronite Church and the Syriac Catholic Church. Chant is deeply important. "Malankara liturgy is soaked in music."

The Syro-Malabar liturgy, known as the Qurbānā, or Offering, originates in the Chaldean church in Persia. As such, it differs from the liturgy of the Syro-Malankara church , the other Syrian Catholic church in India. The liturgical language of the Syro-Malabar Qurbānā is Malayalam, the language of daily life Kerala. The Syro-Malabar church follows its own liturgical calendar . At Syro-Malabar liturgies, men and women generally separate into different sides of the church. Shoes are left outside of church, and prayer rugs cover the floor. The altar is veiled behind a large red drape that opens

Visually, and in terms of many cultural practices, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara and Latin rite Catholic churches look quite similar. Churches can look baroque, or gothic or contemporary. They similarly feature prominent flag poles for parish feasts. They are often differentiated by oil lamps for burning oil, or for pouring oil over the cross.

St. Mary's Forane Church claims to date to 105 AD and to be the site of the first Marian apparition in world history, with the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three young boys at a spring in 335 AD. In several important ways, it serves as a reminder of the ancientness of Syro-Malabar Christianity in India.

Shrines play an unusually big role in Catholic life in southern India. Worshippers stop by them steadily throughout the day, offering brief prayers, and signaling that these are active places of religious power, not simply relics from the past.

Migration plays a significant role in the lives of Syro-Malabar Catholics. Families commonly have at least one family member living abroad for employment purposes.

Many Syro-Malabar Catholics set up shrines in their homes, in a central hallway, dining room or sitting room. Families gather to pray there in the evening, often with a scripture reading, before or after dinner. In parts of central Kerala, it is also common to see images of the Sacred Heart over the doorway to Syro-Malabar Catholic homes.

A funeral procession to St. Alphonsa Shrine & Church, Bharananganam, Kerala, India. Mass on the Day of the Commemoration of the Dead at St. Mary's Forane Church in Kuravilangad, India, 2013.

Mobility within India, and migration out of India, is having some effect on Catholicism in many parts of the country, mostly among the upper and middle classes, who are most connected into the world abroad.

Our Lady of Velankanni, an enormous basilica shrine referred to by many Indians as the "Lourdes of the East," is said to draw millions of visitors a year, especially at Christmas and during the shrine's feast in the nine days leading up to September 8.