Religion in Russia

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour , demolished during the Soviet period, was reconstructed from 1990–2000. It is the world's tallest Orthodox church . Orthodox Christianity ( Russian : Православие Pravoslavije ) is Russia's traditional and largest religion, deemed part of Russia 's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997. Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches . However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, the church is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Russian heritage and culture. Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics , Armenian Gregorian and various Protestants exist. The ancestors of many of today’s Russians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century. Approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians, amounting to 70% of population, although the Church claims a membership of 80 million ;also according to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center , 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers. . It is estimated that Russia is home to 23 million people of Muslim backgrounds, including 1.5 million in Moscow alone. The Orthodox Church estimated in 2000 that 20 million Russians were Muslim, while the official census counter around 15 million Russia also has an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslim migrants from the ex-Soviet states. Most Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region , as well as in the North Caucasus , Moscow, St. Petersburg and western Siberia . Buddhism is traditional for three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia , Tuva and Kalmykia . Some residents of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, Yakutia , Chukotka , etc., practice pantheistic and pagan rites, along with the major religions. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Slavs are overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. Turkic speakers are predominantly Muslim, although several Turkic groups in Russia are not. Embassy of the Russian Federation . "[[: icon]]Сведения o религиозных организациях, зарегистрированных в Российской Федерации По данным Федеральной регистрационной службы" . Russia "[[: icon]]Опубликована подробная сравнительная статистика религиозности в России и Польше" . religare.ru. 6 June 2007 . Page A - 17 .

Religion in Russia (2012) Russian Orthodox (41.0%) Muslim (6.50%) Unaffiliated Christian (4.10%) Other Orthodox (1.50%) Neopagan and Tengrist (1.20%) Tibetan Buddhist (0.50%) Other religions (1.70%) Spiritual but not religious (25.0%) Atheist and non-religious (13.0%) Undecided (5.50%) Religion in Russia is diverse, with a 1997 law naming Christianity , Islam , Buddhism , and Judaism as important in Russian history. Orthodox Christianity ( Russian : Православие Pravoslaviye ) is Russia's traditional and largest religion, deemed a part of Russia 's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997. Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. About 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches . However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Arena - Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia . Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia . "Сведения o религиозных организациях, зарегистрированных в Российской Федерации По данным Федеральной регистрационной службы" (in Russian).

Religion in Russia (Sreda Arena Atlas Survey, 2012) Russian Orthodoxy (41.1%) Other Christians (6.30%) Muslims (6.50%) Neopagans and Tengrists (1.20%) Buddhists (0.50%) Other religions (0.70%) Believers, but not adherents of any particular religion (25.2%) Atheists (13.0%) Undeclared (5.50%) St. Religion in Russia is diverse, with Christianity , especially Russian Orthodoxy , being the most widely professed faith, but with significant minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other faiths. A 1997 law on religion recognises the right to freedom of conscience and creed to all the citizenry, the spiritual contribution of Orthodox Christianity to the history of Russia , and respect to "Christianity, Islam , Buddhism , Judaism and other religions and creeds which constitute an inseparable part of the historical heritage of Russia's peoples", including ethnic religions or paganism, either preserved, or revived. According to the law, any religious organisation may be recognised as "traditional", if it was already in existence before 1982, and each newly founded religious group has to provide its credentials and re-register yearly for fifteen years, and, in the meantime until eventual recognition, stay without rights. The Russian Orthodox Church , though its influence is thin in some parts of Siberia and southern Russia, where there has been a perceptible revival of pre-Christian religion, acts as the de facto, if not de jure, privileged religion of the state, claiming the right to decide which other religions or denominations are to be granted the right of registration. Some Protestant churches which were already in existence before the Russian Revolution have been unable to re-register, and the Catholic Church has been forbidden to develop its own territorial jurisdictions . According to some Western observers, respect for freedom of religion by Russian authorities has declined since the late 1990s and early 2000s. According to International Christian Concern , during 2021 "crackdowns on religious freedom have intensified in Russia." Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 there has been a revival and spread of Siberian shamanism (often mixed with Orthodox elements ), and the emergence of Hinduism and new religious movements throughout Russia. There has been an "exponential increase in new religious groups and alternative spiritualities", Eastern religions and Neopaganism , even among self-defined "Christians"—a term which has become a loose descriptor for a variety of eclectic views and practices. Russia has been defined by the scholar Eliot Borenstein as the "Southern California of Europe" because of such a blossoming of new religious movements, and the latter are perceived by the Russian Orthodox Church as competitors in a "war for souls". However, the multiplicity of religions in Russia has been a traditional component of Russian identities for hundreds of years, contributing to a long-established ethno-cultural pluralism. One of the 2020 amendments to the Constitution of Russia has a Constitutional references to God . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). See also the results' main interactive mapping and the static mappings: "Religions in Russia by federal subject" (Map). The Sreda Arena Atlas was realised in cooperation with the All-Russia Population Census 2010 (Всероссийской переписи населения 2010) , the Russian Ministry of Justice (Минюста РФ) , the Public Opinion Foundation (Фонда Общественного Мнения) and presented among others by the Analytical Department of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church. See: "Проект АРЕНА: Атлас религий и национальностей" [Project ARENA: Atlas of religions and nationalities]. The real religious freedom that existed in practice was ... a result of the turmoil and chaos of the early 1990s, which prevented the Russian elite from keeping a steady hand on things. That hand is firmer now, and there has been a steady deterioration of religious freedom over the past five years. In 1994, the first provincial law restricting the rights of religious minorities was passed, in Tula , about two hundred miles south of Moscow. About one-third of Russia's provinces have passed similar laws since then, and in 1997 the national government passed a law explicitly distinguishing between first-class 'religious organizations' and second-class 'religious groups', which have far fewer rights".

Orthodox Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Russia , with significant minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other faiths. Russia has the world's largest Orthodox population . The constitution of Russia recognises the right to freedom of conscience and creed to all the citizenry, the spiritual contribution of Orthodox Christianity to the history of Russia , and respect to " Christianity , Islam , Buddhism , Judaism and other religions and creeds which constitute an inseparable part of the historical heritage of Russia's peoples", including ethnic religions or paganism , either preserved, or revived. See also the results' main interactive mapping and the static mappings: "Religions in Russia by federal subject" (Map). The Sreda Arena Atlas was realised in cooperation with the All-Russia Population Census 2010 (Всероссийской переписи населения 2010) , the Russian Ministry of Justice (Минюста РФ) , the Public Opinion Foundation (Фонда Общественного Мнения) and presented among others by the Analytical Department of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church. See: "Проект АРЕНА: Атлас религий и национальностей" [Project ARENA: Atlas of religions and nationalities].