In this article we will answer the question of what religions exist in Russia. The Russian religion is a complex of church movements that have taken root in the lands of the Russian Federation. As a secular country, Russia is defined by the Constitution in force from 1993.
What is religious freedom? The Constitution is the document that guarantees both the sovereignty of religion and the independence of conscience. It grants the right to profess personally or in community with others any belief or not to believe in anything. Thanks to this document, one can freely popularize, choose, have religious and other beliefs, and function in accordance with them. It is known that the federal law of September 26, 1997 No. 125-F "On Religious Coalitions and Freedom of Conscience" assures "equality before the law, regardless of views and attitudes towards faith."
In Russia there is no special statea federal body designed to monitor the observance of the rules by religious organizations. It is known that in the USSR there was a Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers.
The basic creeds appearing in Russia are: Buddhism, Islam and Christianity (Protestantism, Orthodoxy and Catholicism). At the same time, part of the population of the Russian Federation does not believe in God.
Number of believers
What proof of God do you know? We want to tell you that the Lord does not provide evidence of his deeds: either there are deeds, or you do not have faith. In the Russian Federation, there is currently no official statistics on membership in pilgrimage structures: the law prohibits asking citizens about their religious affiliation. As a result, one can argue about the piety of Russians only after studying the results of sociological surveys of the population.
Interestingly, the data of such events are dual. Thus, in a 2007 blitz survey, the ROC stated that about 120 million Russian citizens were its followers. And the leaders of Islam at the same time believed that from 13 to 49 million Muslims live in the country. But only 144 million souls live in the Russian Federation! Consequently, one of the denominations greatly exaggerates its fame.
In August 2012, the Sreda service conducted an all-Russian study "Atlas of Nationalities and Religions" in 79 out of 83 subjects of the Russian Federation. Here's what she found:
- 58, 8 million (or 41%) of the inhabitants of the Russian Federation belong to the Russian Orthodox Church (professing Orthodoxy).
- 9.4 million people (or 6.5%) believe in Islam(including Shiites, Sunnis and those who do not consider themselves to be either Shia or Sunni).
- 5.9 million (or 4.1%) of the population profess Christianity, but do not identify themselves as Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant.
- 2.1 million (or 1.5%) of the population profess Orthodoxy, but are not Old Believers and do not belong to the Russian Orthodox Church.
- 1.7 million (or 1.2%) identify themselves with the classical religion of their ancestors, serve the forces of nature and various gods.
- 0.4% (or 700,000) of the population practice Buddhism (usually Tibetan).
- 0, 2% (or 350,000) of people are Old Believers.
- 0.2% (or 350,000) of people identify themselves as Protestants (Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, Evangelicals).
- 0, 1% or (170,000) people identify themselves as Eastern religions and spiritual practices (Krishnas and Hindus).
- 0, 1% (or 170,000) call themselves Catholic.
- 170,000 (or 0.1%) are Jews.
- 36 million (or 25%) believe in the Lord but do not identify with a particular religion.
- 18 million (or 13%) have no faith in the Lord at all.
It is known that in July 2012 the "Voice of Runet" service conducted a survey, thanks to which it turned out that 67% of Russian-speaking Internet visitors are God-fearing.
A study by the Levada Center, conducted in November 2012, showed that the percentage of believers in the Russian Federation was distributed as follows:
- Orthodoxy - 74%.
- Protestants - 1%.
- Catholicism - 1%.
- Atheists - 5%.
- Refused to answer – 0%.
- Islam– 7%.
- Judaism - 1%.
- Hinduism - <1%.
- Buddhism - <1%.
- Other - <1%.
- Difficult to answer – 2%.
- No religion - 10%.
FOM information for June 2013 looks like this:
- Orthodoxy - 64%.
- 25% do not consider themselves God-lovers.
- Other Christian denominations (Uniates, Protestants, Catholics, Baptists, etc.) – 1%.
- Other creeds - 1%.
- Islam - 6%.
- Difficult to answer, cannot name a specific denomination – 4%.
Russian Christianity
Religions in Russia, as you can see, have become widespread. Christianity is represented by three basic directions: Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Catholicism. This country also has followers of various new Christian movements, sects and cults.
Orthodoxy
Agree, religions in Russia are ubiquitous. Let's try to study Orthodoxy now. It is known that the Law of the RSFSR of 1990 (of October 25) was replaced by the Federal Law of 1997 (of September 26) No. 125-FZ “On Religious Coalitions and Freedom of Conscience”. Its introductory part contains an acceptance of the "extraordinary role of Christians in the history of Russia."
Orthodoxy in the Russian Federation is represented by the Orthodox Russian Church, Old Believer associations, as well as a large number of alternative (non-canonical) Christian structures of the Russian tradition.
In general, the Russian Christian Church is the largest religious association in the lands of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers itselfhistorically the first Russian Christian community: officially its state foundation was laid in 988 by the holy prince Vladimir, according to established historiography.
According to the leader of the "Public Russian Movement", political scientist Pavel Svyatenkov (January 2009), the Russian Orthodox Church is de facto in a special position in the current Russian society and political life.
Promotion of Orthodoxy in Russia
And how widespread are religions in Russia? In March 2010, VTsIOM conducted an all-Russian survey, according to which, 75% of the inhabitants identify themselves as Orthodox Christians. It is noteworthy that only 54% of them studied the Bible, about 73% of Christians observe religious postulates.
Tarusin Mikhail Askoldovich, head of the sociological department of the Institute for Collective Design, believes that this information shows absolutely nothing. He said that these data are only indicators of Russian modern national identity. If we consider as Orthodox people those who take part in the sacraments of communion and confession at least a couple of times a year, then there are 18-20% of them in total.
Analysts believe that opinion polls show that the vast majority of believers call themselves Orthodox on the basis of national unanimity.
Catholicism
So, does the Lord exist or not? Can anyone provide any proof? Nobody has seen God. And yet, historically, Latin Christianity in the lands of the Eastern Slavshas been present since the birth of Kievan Rus. Very often the rulers of the Russian state changed their attitude towards Catholics: they either rejected them or accepted them favorably. Today, the Catholic community of Russia includes several hundred thousand believers.
We know that in 1917 the October Revolution took place in Russia, but Catholic churches continued to work freely for some time. And yet, in the 1920s, Soviet power began to eradicate this belief in Russia. In that troubled time, many Catholic priests were shot and arrested, almost all churches were looted and closed. Many active parishioners were repressed and exiled. In the RSFSR, after the Great Patriotic War, only two Catholic churches operated: Our Lady of Lourdes (Leningrad) and St. Louis (Moscow).
The image of Christ did not leave Russia, and since the early 1990s, Catholics have resumed their activities in Russia. There were two Apostolic Catholic offices of the Latin rite, a college of Catholic theology and a theological higher seminary.
The Federal Registration Service reported in December 2006 that there are about 230 parishes in Russia, a quarter of which do not have temple buildings. The parishes are divided into four dioceses, united together in the metropolis.
In 1996, there were between 200,000 and 500,000 Catholics in Russia.
Protestantism
The number of Protestants in Russia R. N. Lunkin estimates at three million people (2014). He said that more than half of them are parishioners of a largenumber of Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches. Other major Protestant denominations include tens of thousands of believing citizens: Baptists, Lutherans, Evangelical Christians and Adventists.
In terms of the number of religious organizations officially registered by the Ministry of Justice, Protestants in the country are in second place, second only to the Orthodox. By the way, Protestants in the Volga and North Caucasian federal districts are also inferior to Muslims, and in the Far Eastern district they take first place.
Other
The image of Christ is also revered by Jehovah's Witnesses. Their number in Russia in 2013 averaged 164,187 active preachers. About 4,988 Russians are known to have been baptized in 2013, becoming Jehovah's Witnesses. The Memorial in 2013 was attended by 283,221 people. There is also spiritual Christianity in Russia, which includes Molokans and Doukhobors.
Islam
The names of the gods of the ancient world are almost forgotten. Today in Russia about 8 million people profess Islam. The Muslim Spiritual Administration of the European part of the Russian Federation claims that about twenty million followers of Islam live in this country.
The vast majority, of course, call themselves "ethnic" Muslims. They do not fulfill the requirements of the dogma and refer themselves to it due to traditions or place of residence (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan). In the Caucasus, communities are strong (the Christian region of North Ossetia is an exception).
Many Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region,Petersburg, Moscow, the North Caucasus and Western Siberia.
Judaism
Agree, the religions of peoples are very interesting to study. Let's find out how many people in the Russian Federation revere Judaism. In total, there are 1.5 million Jews in Russia. The Federation of Jewish Russian Communities (FEOR) reports that 500,000 Jews live in Moscow, and about 170,000 in St. Petersburg. There are about 70 synagogues in Russia.
Simultaneously with FEOR, another major alliance of Jewish religious communities is functioning - the Congress of Spiritual Jewish Associations and Organizations of Russia.
The 2002 census states that officially 233,439 Jews live in Russia.
Buddhism
Beliefs and creeds can be studied endlessly. For which regions of the Russian Federation is Buddhism traditional? It is distributed in Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tuva. The Buddhist Association of Russia has estimated that the number of people who worship the Buddha is between 1.5 and 2 million.
In general, the number of "ethnic" Buddhists in Russia (according to information on the 2012 census) was: Kalmyks - 174 thousand people, Buryats - 445 thousand, Tuvans - 243 thousand people. In total, about 900 thousand souls traditionally identify themselves as Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug school.
In the 1990s, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism gained immense popularity among the urban intelligentsia. In those days, even the corresponding communities appeared.
The northernmost Buddhist church in the world is located in St. Petersburg. It was erected before the revolution in Petrograd ("Datsan Gunzechoinei"). Todaythis building is a tourist and religious center of Buddhist culture.
Other religious forms and paganism
The existence of God has not been proven by science, but the indigenous inhabitants of the Far Eastern and Siberian regions, along with officially professed Orthodoxy, retain the nuances of traditional love of God. Some Finno-Ugric peoples (Udmurts, Maris and others) also honor ancient beliefs.
Their beliefs depend on the preservation of the traditional element and are characterized as folk Orthodoxy or shamanism. By the way, the term "folk Orthodoxy" can also be used in relation to the majority of Russians, especially rural ones.
The names of the gods work wonders. Therefore, many peoples of Russia are trying to revive traditional beliefs. In 2013, the experimental service "Sreda" determined that 1.5% of Russians call themselves pagans. Interestingly, all religious movements of this kind are referred to as "neopaganism."
And in the urban environment, in addition to established beliefs, the newest religious movements of the eastern (Tantrism, etc.), occult and neo-pagan (rodnovery, etc.) sense thrive.
State and religion
Religious freedom is the greatest value in any country. According to the Constitution, the Russian Federation is a secular country in which no religion can be mandatory or state. In the modern Russian Federation, the dominant trend is the clericalization of the country - the gradual creation of a model with a dominant religion.
In practice, Russia lacks a cleara line of demarcation between the state and creeds, behind which state life ends and confessional life begins.
By the way, V. Kuvakin, a member of the RAS Commission for Combating Falsification of Scientific Experiments and Pseudoscience, believes that the current leadership of Russia is making a huge historical mistake, trying to turn Orthodoxy into a state religion. After all, such actions are contrary to the Constitution.
Clericalization
We all know that the Creator of the Universe is great! Religion penetrates into all spheres of public life. It can also be found in those areas that, according to the Constitution, are separated from faith: in schools, the army, government agencies, science and education. It is known that the State Duma has agreed with the Patriarchate of Moscow to hold preliminary consultations on all points that give rise to doubts. In the schools of the Russian Federation, students began to study the basics of religious cultures, in some universities of the country there is a speci alty "theology".
A new position was introduced into the staffing table of the Armed Forces - a chaplain (military priest). A huge number of departments, ministries, state institutions own their own temples. Very often, these ministries have public councils covering religious topics.
Armenia
And now let's study the religion of Armenians. What does it represent? It is known that most of the inhabitants of Armenia are Christians who call themselves adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Christianity appeared in this country in the 1st century AD. e. It was then that Christ preached hereApostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who are considered supporters of the Apostolic Armenian Church.
It is known that at the beginning of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301), Tsar Trdat III declared Christianity the state religion. This is how Armenia became the first Christian state on Earth.
Faith, Orthodoxy are an integral part of the life of almost every Armenian. Thus, the 2011 census of the inhabitants of Armenia says that Christianity of various denominations in the state is professed by 2,858,741 souls. This figure indicates that 98.67% of the God-fearing population lives in this country.
The religion of Armenians is not the same: 29,280 believers venerate the Armenian Evangelical Church, 13,843 - the Armenian Catholic Church, 8695 consider themselves Jehovah's Witnesses, 7532 call themselves Orthodox (Chalkadonites), 2872 - Molokans.
By the way, the Apostolic Armenian Church is among the Oriental Orthodox churches. These include: Coptic, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Malankara and Syrian.
Yazidism
It is known that freedom of religion also exists in Armenia. 25,204 supporters of Yezidism live in this country (almost 1% of the devout population of the state). Mostly Yezidi Kurds. They live in the villages of the Ararat valley, a little northwest of Yerevan. On September 29, 2012, the temple "Ziarat" was solemnly opened in the Armavir region of the state.
It is considered the first temple built outside of Northern Iraq - the original homeland of the Yezidis. Its task is to satisfy the spiritual needs of the YezidisArmenia.
Judaism
God is the Creator of all life on Earth. This opinion is shared by all believers, no matter what religion they belong to. Interestingly, there are up to 3,000 Jews in Armenia, who mostly live in Yerevan.
Islam
Christian denomination of Armenia we analyzed. And who in this country welcomes Islam? It is known that Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Persians, Armenians and other nations profess this creed here. A mosque was erected in Yerevan especially for Muslims.
Today, in this state, the Kurdish Muslim community includes several hundred souls, most of whom live in the Abovyan region. Some Muslim Azerbaijanis live near the northern and eastern borders of Armenia in villages. In general, there are about one thousand Muslims in Yerevan - Kurds, immigrants from the Middle East, Persians and about 1,500 Armenian women who converted to Islam.
Neopaganism
Aren't you tired of studying the endless religions of peoples? So, we continue to further analyze this interesting topic. The 2011 census shows that there are 5434 supporters of paganism in Armenia.
The neo-pagan religious movement is called Getanism. It recreates the established Armenian pre-Christian doctrine. Hetanism was founded by Armenologist Slak Kakosyan on the basis of the works of Garegin Nzhdeh, the most famous Armenian nationalist.
Continuously all neo-pagan sacraments are held in the temple of Garni. The head of the Armenian pagan communities is the priest Petrosyan Zohrab. No one knows the exact number of followers of this faith. In general, Armenian neo-paganism is popular asas a rule, among fans of ultra-right and nationalist movements.
It is known that well-known politicians of Armenia considered themselves guitarists: Ashot Navasardyan (founded the ruling Republican Armenian Party) and Margaryan Andranik (former Prime Minister of the country).
Freedom of faith in Russia
The beliefs and religion of the Russian people prompted Emperor Nicholas II in 1905 (April 17) to issue a nominal royal decree for the Senate. This decree narrated about the strengthening of the origins of religious tolerance. It was this paper, for the first time in the history of Russia, that not only legally affirmed the rights to freedom of belief of persons of the non-Orthodox faith, but also established that leaving it for other faiths was not subject to prosecution. In addition, the tsar legalized the Old Believers and abolished the previously existing prohibitions and restrictions for other Christian denominations.
The law on religion states that since January 20, 1918, religion in Russia has been a personal matter for everyone. That is how the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR proclaimed.
And the Constitution of the Russian Federation (part 2, article 14) says that:
- Russia is a secular country. No religion here can be set as mandatory or state.
- Religious communities are separated from the state and are equal before the law. The federal law "On Religious Coalitions and Freedom of Conscience" in 1997 recorded "the exceptional role of Orthodoxy in Russian history, in the development of its culture and spirituality."
We hope this article helped you geta general idea of Russian religions.
