What religion is obligatory in the Russian Federation. Religions of Russia

Religion in Russia The current (1993) Constitution of Russia defines the Russian Federation as a secular state. The Constitution guarantees "freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess, individually or jointly with others, any religion or none, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them." Federal Law No. 125-FZ of 26 September 1997 “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” confirms “equality before the law, regardless of attitude to religion and beliefs.”

Religious and national restrictions that have been legislated in laws Russian Empire, were canceled by the Provisional Government on March 20, 1917.

In Russia there is no special federal state body designed to control the observance of the law by religious associations (which was the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR in the USSR); but, according to experts, amendments made in July 2008 to the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" dated September 26, 1997, may indicate the forthcoming creation of an appropriate "authorized executive body." On August 26, 2008, it was reported that by decree of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan M. Shaimiev, the Council for Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan was transformed into the Department for Religious Affairs, thus regaining the powers of a state body.

The main religions represented in Russia are Christianity (mainly Orthodoxy, there are also Catholics and Protestants), as well as Islam and Buddhism.

Total number of believers

In Russia today there are no official statistics on membership in religious organizations: the law prohibits requiring citizens to declare their religious affiliation. Thus, the religiosity of Russians and their confessional self-identification can only be judged by sociological surveys of the population. The results of such polls are very contradictory.

According to the Russian Independent Institute for Social and Ethnic Problems (2007), 47% of respondents call themselves believers in God. Of these, almost half have never opened the Bible, only 10% regularly attend church, observe all the rites and rituals, and 43% go to church only on holidays.

According to all-Russian survey, conducted by VTsIOM in March 2010, the population of the country classifies itself as belonging to the following confessions:

• Orthodoxy - 75%
• Islam - 5%
• Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Buddhism - 1% each
• Other confessions - about 1%
• Non-believers - 8%

In addition, 3% of respondents expressed the opinion that they are believers, but do not identify themselves with any particular denomination. At the same time, only 66% of Russians observe religious rites, and then only on holidays or occasionally. For comparison: according to a 2006 survey, all the rituals of their religion were observed by 22% of all believers (regardless of confessional affiliation).

Christianity in Russia

All three main directions of Christianity are represented in Russia - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. In addition, there are followers of various new Christian movements, cults and sects.

Orthodoxy

The Federal Law of September 26, 1997 No. 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”, replacing the Law of the RSFSR of October 25, 1990 No. 267-I “On Freedom of Religion”, in the preamble contains recognition of the “special role of Orthodoxy in history Russia".

Orthodoxy (in the understanding of the term by state bodies and religious scholars) in the Russian Federation is represented by the Russian Orthodox Church, Old Believer associations, as well as a number of non-canonical (alternative) Orthodox organizations of the Russian tradition.

The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest religious association in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers itself historically the first Christian community in Russia: the official state foundation was laid by the holy prince Vladimir in 988, according to traditional historiography.

According to the head of the Russian Public Movement, political scientist Pavel Svyatenkov (January 2009), the ROC de facto occupies a special position in modern Russian society and political life:

Researcher Nikolai Mitrokhin wrote (2006):

The prevalence of Orthodoxy in Russia

According to an all-Russian poll conducted by VTsIOM in March 2010, 75% of Russians identify themselves as Orthodox Christians, while only 54% of them are familiar with the content of the Bible. About 73% of Orthodox respondents observe religious customs and holidays.

Mikhail Askoldovich Tarusin, head of the sociological department of the Institute for Public Design, commented on these data:

This number doesn't mean much.<...>If these data can be considered an indicator of anything, then only the modern Russian national identity. But not real religious affiliation.<...>If we consider as Orthodox "church" people those who participate in the Sacraments of Confession and Communion at least once or twice a year, then Orthodox 18-20%.<...>Thus, about 60% of VTsIOM respondents are not Orthodox people. If they go to the temple, then several times a year, as if they were going to some kind of domestic service - to consecrate the Easter cake, take baptismal water ... And some of them don’t go even then, moreover, many may not believe in God, but with they call themselves Orthodox.

According to analysts, sociological polls indicate that the majority identify themselves with Orthodoxy on the basis of national self-consciousness.

Orthodox observance of church rites

According to a survey conducted by VTsIOM in 2006, only 9% of respondents who identified themselves as Orthodox noted that they observe all religious rites and participate in church life. At the same time, 36% noted that Orthodoxy is a tradition of their ancestors for them. According to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in January-February 2010, only 4% of Orthodox Russians regularly attend church and receive communion.

The Ministry of the Interior estimates that worshipers make up less than 2% of the population. So, on Easter 2003, from 8:00 pm on Great Saturday to 6 am on Easter Sunday, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 63 thousand people entered the churches of Moscow (compared to 180 thousand in 1992-1994), that is, about half of one percent of the city's actual population. 4.5 million Russians took part in Easter services on the night of April 19, 2009. At the same time, 5.1 million people visited cemeteries on Easter. About 2.3 million Russians took part in Christmas services from 6 to 7 January 2008.

On January 10, 2008, the head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate, priest Vladimir Vigilyansky, expressed his disagreement with the statistics of attendance at churches in the capital at Christmas, which had previously been cited by law enforcement agencies, saying: “The official figures are very underestimated. It always amazes me where these numbers come from and what the purpose of this approach is. I think we can safely say that about a million believers visited Moscow churches on Christmas this year.” A similar opinion was expressed in April 2008 by a DECR officer, priest Mikhail Prokopenko.

Percentage of Russians attending church services

According to Andrey Kuraev, the problem is related to the acute shortage of churches in Moscow. He argues that according to sociological estimates, about 5% of Muscovites are actively churching, and churches can accommodate only a fifth.

The decline of practical religiosity in Russian Orthodox Church Compared to the 1990s, Patriarch Alexy II noted in 2003: “Temples are empty. And they are emptying not only because the number of temples is increasing.”.

According to a 2008 VTsIOM poll, 27% of respondents who identified themselves as Orthodox do not know any of the Ten Commandments. The commandment “Thou shalt not kill” was able to remember only 56% of the survey participants.

Archpriest Alexander Kuzin, commenting on the results of the VTsIOM poll, according to which the majority of Russians call on the church to revise moral norms, noted:

Catholicism

Historical presence of Latin Christianity in the lands Eastern Slavs goes back to early times Kievan Rus. AT different times attitude of rulers Russian state towards Catholics changed from complete rejection to benevolence. At present, the Catholic community in Russia numbers several hundred thousand people.

After October revolution 1917 Catholic Church for some time she continued to work freely in Russia, but from the beginning of the 1920s, the Soviet government began a policy of eradicating Catholicism in Russia. In the 20s and 30s of the XX century, many Catholic priests were arrested and shot, almost all churches were closed and looted. Almost all active parishioners were repressed and exiled. In the period after the Great Patriotic War in the RSFSR there are only two functioning Catholic churches, the church of St. Louis in Moscow and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Leningrad.

Since the early 1990s, the Catholic Church has been able to function freely in Russia. Two Apostolic administrations for Latin Rite Catholics were created, which were subsequently transformed into dioceses; as well as a college of Catholic theology and a higher theological seminary.

According to the data of the Federal Registration Service for December 2006, there are about 230 parishes in Russia, a quarter of them do not have temple buildings. Organizationally, the parishes are united into four dioceses, which together make up the metropolis:

• Archdiocese of the Mother of God
• Transfiguration diocese in Novosibirsk
• Diocese of Saint Joseph in Irkutsk
• Diocese of St. Clement in Saratov

The estimate of the number of Catholics in Russia is approximate. In 1996-1997 there were from 200 to 500 thousand people.

Protestantism

Protestantism is represented in Russia by the following denominations:

• Lutheranism
• Evangelical Christian Baptists
• Evangelical Christians (Pentecostals)
• Mennonites
• Seventh Day Adventists

Lutheranism

• Lutheran Church in Russia

Other

Antitrinitarians

Jehovah witnesses

population Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as of March 2010 is 162.182 people. In 2010, about 6,600 people in Russia were baptized as Jehovah's Witnesses. Despite the constant growth of the organization, they still remain a religious minority in Russia, accounting for about 0.2% of the country's population.

• Christadelphians

Spiritual Christianity

• Molokans
• Doukhobors.

Islam

According to experts (during the last census, the question of religious affiliation was not asked), there are about 8 million Muslims in Russia. According to the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the European part of the Russian Federation, there are about 20 million Muslims in Russia. According to VTsIOM data based on the results of an all-Russian survey (January 2010), the proportion of those who call themselves followers of Islam (as a worldview or religion) in 2009 in Russia decreased from 7% to 5% of respondents.

Most of them are the so-called "ethnic" Muslims, who do not comply with the requirements of the Muslim faith, and identify themselves with Islam in connection with tradition or place of residence (there are especially many of these in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan). Communities are stronger in the Caucasus (excluding the Christian region North Ossetia).

Most Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the North Caucasus, in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Western Siberia.

Religious organizations and leaders

• Talgat Tadzhuddin - Supreme Mufti (Mufti Sheikh-ul-Islam) of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia and European countries CIS (TsDUM) (Ufa).
• Ravil Gainutdin - Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, head of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the European part of Russia (Moscow).
• Nafigulla Ashirov - head of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Asian part of Russia, co-chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia.
• Muhammad-hadzhi Rakhimov - Chairman of the Russian Association of Islamic Accord (All-Russian Muftiate), Mufti of Russia (Moscow).
• Magomed Albogachiev - and. about. Chairman of the Muslim Coordinating Center North Caucasus.

Islam in the history of Russia

In a number of lands that are now part of Russia, Islam existed for centuries as the state religion. During the Islamic period of the Golden Horde (1312-1480), Christian principalities were in vassal dependence on Muslim uluses and khanates. After the unification of the Russian lands by Ivan III and his successors, part of the Muslim khanates became dependent on the Orthodox monarchy, and part was annexed by the Russian state.

For the first time Islam was adopted as a state religion in the Volga Bulgaria in 922 (modern Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions). Competition of the Volga Bulgaria with Kievan Rus ended in the middle of the XIII century, when both states were conquered by the Tatar-Mongols. In 1312 in Ulus Jochi(Golden Horde) Islam was adopted as the state religion. The state power placed the princes in submission to the emirs, Baskaks and other representatives of the Tatar-Mongol khans. The Great Yasa served as civil law in the Ulus of Jochi, whose authority dates back to Genghis Khan. Major Decisions were accepted by the nobility jointly at kurultais. On the territory of the Ulus Jochi, the practice of the Christian faith was allowed, although the Orthodox metropolitan and clergy, under pain of death, were charged with the obligation to "pray to God for the khan, his family and his army."

The successors of the Ulus Jochi were the Great Horde ( Ulug Ulus, 1433-1502), the Nogai Horde (XIV-XVIII centuries), as well as a number of khanates, some of which survived in Russia until late XVIII century. For example, until 1783, part of the Crimean Khanate was located on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory.

In 1552, Ivan IV the Terrible, by way of conquest, annexed the Kazan, and in 1556 the Astrakhan khanate. Gradually, other Islamic states were annexed to Tsarist Russia and Russia by military means.

In the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries, the North Caucasian territories, populated mainly by Muslims, were introduced into the Russian Empire.

According to the All-Russian census of 2002, the Tatars occupy the second largest place among the peoples inhabiting modern Russia (more than 5.5 million people). Tatars make up the vast majority of Muslims in Russia and are the northernmost Muslim people in the world. Traditionally, Tatar Islam has always been characterized by moderation and lack of fanaticism. Tatar women often played an important role in public life Tatars. One of the very first Muslim women to become heads of state was Syuyumbike, the queen of the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century.

Simultaneously with the collapse of the USSR, the disintegration of the united spiritual administrations began in the country. The Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of the North Caucasus broke up into 7 directorates, after which two more were formed. Then the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the European part of the USSR and Siberia, with its center in Ufa, collapsed. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, then Bashkortostan, was the first to emerge from its composition, followed by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Siberia.

Only in 1993 did the reverse process begin and a decision was made to establish the Spiritual Board of Muslims in the European part of Russia. In July 1996, the heads of the most authoritative spiritual administrations decided to create the Council of Muftis of Russia. The Council meets at least twice a year for expanded meetings with the participation of leaders of Islamic educational institutions. The Chairman of the Council is elected for 5 years.

The Muslims of the North Caucasus created their own coordination center. At the same time, the spiritual administrations of Muslims of the Chechen Republic, the Republic of North Ossetia, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Ingushetia are also included in the Council of Muftis of Russia.

Judaism

The number of Jews is about 1.5 million. Of these, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR), about 500 thousand live in Moscow, and about 170 thousand in St. Petersburg. There are about 70 synagogues in Russia.

Along with FEOR, another large association of religious Jewish communities is the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia.

According to the 2002 census, the official number of Jews in Russia is 233,439 people.

Buddhism

Buddhism is traditional for three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia. According to the Buddhist Association of Russia, the number of people practicing Buddhism is 1.5-2 million.

The number of "ethnic Buddhists" in Russia, in accordance with the data of the All-Russian population census held in 2002, was: Buryats - 445 thousand people, Kalmyks - 174 thousand and Tuvans - 243 thousand people; total - no more than 900 thousand people.

In the 90s of the XX century, through the efforts of foreign missionaries and domestic ascetics in major cities Buddhist communities began to appear, usually belonging to the Far Eastern Zen school or the Tibetan direction.

The world's northernmost datsan "Gunzechoinei", built before the Revolution in Petrograd, now serves as a tourist and cult center of Buddhist culture. Preparations are underway for the construction of a Buddhist temple in Moscow, which could unite Buddhists around itself in joint practice.

Other forms of religion and paganism

The indigenous inhabitants of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, as well as part of the Finno-Ugric peoples (Mari, Udmurts, etc.) and Chuvash, along with officially professed Orthodoxy, to a greater or lesser extent retain elements of traditional beliefs. Depending on the preservation of the traditional element, their beliefs can be characterized as shamanism or folk Orthodoxy. The term "folk Orthodoxy" (Christianity, which absorbed many pagan elements) can be applied to most Russians, especially those living in rural areas.

Many peoples of Russia are trying to revive traditional beliefs. All received religious movements are designated by the general term "neopaganism".

In the urban environment, in addition to traditional religions, new religious movements of the occult, eastern (Tantrism, etc.) and neo-pagan (the so-called "rodnovery", etc.) sense are widespread.

Religion and State

According to the Constitution, Russia is a secular state in which no religion can be established as a state or obligatory one. The dominant trend in modern Russia is the clericalization of the country - the gradual implementation of the model with the dominant (some say - the state) religion. In practice, in Russia there is no clear demarcation line between the state and religion, beyond which state life ends and confessional life begins. Some supporters of Orthodoxy believe that the separation of religious associations from the state proclaimed by the Constitution is a consequence of communist stereotypes in public opinion. Member of the RAS Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification scientific research V. Kuvakin considers the desire to turn Orthodoxy into a state religion, that is, into a state ideology, which directly contradicts the Constitution, a great historical mistake of the current leadership of Russia.

Clericalization

Religion penetrates almost all spheres of public life, including those areas that are separated from religion according to the Constitution: state bodies, schools, the army, science and education. Thus, the State Duma agreed with the Moscow Patriarchate to hold preliminary consultations on all issues of doubt. AT Russian schools there were educational subjects "the foundations of religious cultures", in some state universities there is a specialty theology. A new position appeared in the staff list of the Russian Armed Forces - a military priest (chaplain). A number of ministries, departments, state institutions have their own religious temples, often in these ministries and departments there are public councils for covering religious topics. January 7 ( Orthodox Christmas) is an official non-working holiday in Russia.

Religious culture in schools

Introduction to the program of general education public schools course "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" on an optional basis began in certain regions of the country in the late 1990s. Since 2006, the course has become mandatory in four regions: Belgorod, Kaluga, Bryansk and Smolensk. Since 2007, it was planned to add several more regions to them. Experience in introducing a course in Belgorod region been criticized and supported. Supporters of the subject and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church argued that "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is a culturological course that does not aim to introduce students to religious life. They emphasized that acquaintance with Orthodox culture could be useful for representatives of other faiths. Opponents of the course pointed out that, in accordance with the law "On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations", the state must ensure the secular nature of education, that according to the Constitution all religions are equal before the law and none of them can be established as state, and also that compulsory study such an object violates the rights of schoolchildren belonging to other faiths and atheists.

Since April 1, 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation included in school curriculum subject "Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics" as federal component first experimentally in 19 regions of Russia, and if the experiment is successful, in all regions since 2012. The subject includes 6 modules, from which students, at their choice or the choice of their parents (legal representatives), can choose one to study:

• "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture"
• "Fundamentals of Islamic Culture"
• "Fundamentals of Buddhist Culture"
• "Fundamentals of Jewish Culture"
• "Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures"
• "Fundamentals of Secular Ethics"

The experts made an unequivocal conclusion about the inadmissibility of using textbooks on the modules of the foundations of religious cultures, published in 2010, in Russian schools. Textbooks contain numerous signs of a gross violation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, aggressively impose on students a certain religious ideology that is openly hostile to a secular state. The textbooks are untenable in scientific terms, they do not define the concept of "religious culture" and instead of it, a flatly filed religious doctrine is introduced, leading to the substitution of culture for dogma. No scientific discussion of these textbooks was intended, the process of creating a textbook in terms of the modules of the foundations of religious cultures was deliberately planned in such a way as to completely transfer it to confessions, removing scientists from any participation.

Discussion around the letter of academicians

In August 2007, the so-called “letter of academicians” caused a resonance in society and the media. Ten academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including two Nobel laureates V. L. Ginzburg and Zh. areas of public life, including public education. The letter expressed concern that instead of a culturological subject on religions, schools were trying to introduce obligatory teaching of the dogma, that the inclusion of the specialty "theology" in the list of scientific specialties of the Higher Attestation Commission would be contrary to the Russian Constitution. The letter was supported by many public figures, including member of the Public Chamber VL Glazychev. The letter and its support by members of the Public Chamber provoked sharp criticism from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, in particular, Archpriest V. Chaplin and the head of the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church MP V. Vigilyansky. The letter served as an information occasion for a broad discussion of issues related to the relationship between the church and society.

Interreligious relations

In 1998, the Interreligious Council of Russia (IRC) was created, which brings together spiritual leaders and representatives of the four traditional faiths in Russia: Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Inter-religious relations in Russia are complicated by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus / The inter-ethnic contradictions existing in Russia between the Slavs and representatives of peoples who traditionally profess Islam (Chechens, Azerbaijanis, ...) are complicated by inter-religious contradictions. March 11, 2006 The Council of Muftis of Russia opposed the introduction of armed forces Russian Federation of the institute of full-time regimental priests and the introduction of the subject "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" into the curriculum of the country's secondary schools. A number of muftis expressed disagreement with such statements, noting that they undermine the foundations of interreligious dialogue.

Liquidation and prohibition of the activities of religious organizations in post-Soviet Russia

In 1996, 11 criminal cases were initiated in Russia under Article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Organizing an association that infringes on the personality and rights of citizens”, in 1997 and 1998 - 2 and 5 cases, respectively.

Since 2002, the legal status of religious organizations has been regulated by the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" No. 125-FZ. According to Article 14 of this Law, a religious organization may be liquidated and its activities prohibited by the courts. The basis for this is, in particular, the extremist activity (extremism) of a religious organization in the definition of Article 1 federal law"On counteracting extremist activity" dated July 25, 2002 No. 114-FZ.

According to the Russian Ministry of Justice, during 2003, 31 local religious organizations were liquidated for gross violations of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal legislation. Repeated violations of constitutional norms and legislation were revealed in 1 centralized and 8 local religious organizations, which were also liquidated. In addition, 1 centralized and 12 local religious organizations were liquidated by court decisions for the systematic implementation of activities that contradicted the statutory goals. In total, in 2003, 225 religious organizations were liquidated by decisions of the judiciary, including those related to the Russian Orthodox Church - 71, Islam - 42, evangelism - 14, Baptism - 13, Pentecostalism - 12, Buddhism - 11.

To date, on the basis of the Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity", court decisions on the liquidation or ban on the activities of 9 religious organizations have come into legal force. In particular, such decisions were made in 2004 in relation to 3 religious organizations of the Old Russian Inglistic Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Ynglings, in 2009 in relation to 1 local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Taganrog" (as of January 1, 2008, registered in Russia 398 local organizations Jehovah's Witnesses). Religious organizations whose activities have been suspended due to their extremist activities are currently absent.

The list of religious organizations in respect of which the court has made a decision that has entered into legal force to liquidate or ban their activities on the grounds provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as the list of religious organizations whose activities have been suspended due to their extremist activities, is maintained and published by the Ministry of Justice Russian Federation.

At the beginning of 2010, 23,494 religious organizations were registered in Russia.

In this article we will give an answer to 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, which has been in force since 1993.

What is freedom of religion? 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 state federal body designed to control 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.

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 confessions 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 out:

• 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 consider themselves neither Shia nor Sunni).
• 5.9 million (or 4.1%) of the inhabitants profess Christianity, but do not identify themselves as either Catholics, or Orthodox, or Protestants.
• 2.1 million (or 1.5%) of the inhabitants 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 inhabitants practice Buddhism (usually Tibetan).
• 0.2% (or 350,000) of people are Old Believers.
• 0.2% (or 350,000) of people call themselves 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) identify themselves as Catholic.
• 170,000 (or 0.1%) are Jews.
• 36 million (or 25%) people believe in the Lord, but do not identify themselves with a particular religion.
• 18 million (or 13%) do not believe in the Lord at all.

It is known that in July 2012 the Voice of the Runet service conducted a survey, thanks to which it turned out that 67% of Russian-speaking Internet visitors are God-fearing.

And 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%.
• To any religion - 10%.

FOM information for June 2013 looks like this:

• Orthodoxy - 64%.
• 25% do not consider themselves lovers of God.
• Other Christian denominations (Uniates, Protestants, Catholics, Baptists, etc.) - 1%.
• Other creeds - 1%.
• Islam - 6%.
• Difficult to answer, unable to 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. There are also followers of various new Christian movements, sects and cults in this country.

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”. The introductory part of it 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 itself historically 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 ROC is de facto in a special position in today's Russian society and political life.

Popularization of Orthodoxy in Russia

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 at least a couple of times a year take part in the sacraments of communion and confession, 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 has been present in the lands of the Eastern Slavs 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 were about 230 parishes in Russia, a quarter of which had no church buildings. The parishes consist of four dioceses, united together in the metropolis.

In 1996, there were between 200,000 and 500,000 Catholics in Russia.

Protestantism

R.N. Lunkin estimates the number of Protestants in Russia at three million people (2014). He reported that more than half of them are members of a large number 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 occupy the 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. In Russia, there is also spiritual Christianity, 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, refer to themselves as "ethnic" Muslims. They do not comply with 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, St. 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 the FEOR, another large alliance of Jewish religious communities is functioning - the Congress of Spiritual Jewish Associations and Organizations of Russia.

The 2002 census states that 233,439 Jews officially live in Russia.

Buddhism

Beliefs and religion 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 the 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 with Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug school.

In the 1990s, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism gained immense popularity among the urban intelligentsia. In those days, even 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”). Today this 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, Mari 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 miracles. 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 are flourishing.

State and religion

Freedom of religion 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, in Russia there is no clear demarcation line 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 by 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 specialty "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 the 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 the Apostles of Christ Bartholomew and Thaddeus, who are considered supporters of the Apostolic Armenian Church, preached here.

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 revere the Armenian Evangelical Church, 13,843 believers 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.

Yezidism

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. In the Armavir region of the state on September 29, 2012, the temple "Ziarat" was solemnly opened.

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 Yezidis of Armenia.

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

We analyzed the Christian religion of Armenia. 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 specifically for Muslims.

Today in this state, the community of Muslim Kurds 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.

neo-paganism

Are 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 living 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.

Incessantly, 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, as 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 belief in Russia

The beliefs and religion of the Russian people prompted Emperor Nicholas II in 1905 (April 17) to issue a personal imperial 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 established 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 has helped you get a general idea of ​​Russian religions.

Russia is a huge state uniting many nations with one word "Russians". However, this does not prevent each nation from having its own religious traditions and customs. Many foreigners are surprised and delighted by the way the issue of religion is treated in our country. In Russia, none of the religious movements can take the status of the dominant one, since at the legislative level the country is recognized as a secular state. Therefore, peoples can choose for themselves the faith they want, and no one will persecute them for this. But still, what religions exist in Russia? Are there really so many diverse movements in the country that peacefully coexist with each other? We will try to answer these and other questions in the article.

Consider the topic under the prism of the law

Freedom of religion in Russia is constitutionally enshrined. Citizens decide for themselves what to believe in and which temples to visit. Also, you can always remain an atheist and not support any of the confessions. And there are many of them on the territory of the country: according to the latest data, seventy religious denominations have been identified that are actively operating in the state. Based on this, we can safely conclude that the issue of religion in Russia is not acute. Believers respect each other's rights and freedoms without encroaching on alien religious traditions.

At the legislative level, there is a ban on insulting the feelings of believers and committing actions that can be interpreted as disrespect for them. There are criminal penalties for such acts.

Such an attitude towards religion ensures the inviolability and invariability of freedom of religion in Russia. Many scientists believe that this is predetermined historically. After all, our country has always been a multinational state, where conflicts on the basis of religious hatred have never arisen. All nations and peoples have respected each other's rights and beliefs for many centuries. This situation is observed even today.

However, many are interested in what religion in Russia can be considered the most important? Let's look for the answer to this question together in the following sections of the article.

The religious composition of the population of Russia

It is not difficult to determine the types of religion in Russia. This can be approximately done by every resident of the country, having a sufficient number of friends and acquaintances. Most likely, among them will be Christians, Buddhists and even adherents of Islam. However, these are far from all the religions represented in the state. In fact, each of them has branches and a few religious associations. Therefore, in reality, the religious "carpet" looks much more colorful.

If we focus on official statistics, then Christianity can be called the main religion in Russia. It is noteworthy that it is followed by a large part of the population. But at the same time, religion is represented by all the main branches:

• orthodoxy;
• Catholicism;
• Protestantism.

What religion in Russia can be put in second place in terms of prevalence? Oddly enough for many, but this religion is Islam. It is confessed mainly in the south of our country.

The third and subsequent places are occupied by Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism and other religious movements. In the next section, we will talk in more detail about the religion of the peoples of Russia.

Statistical data

To find out about religion in Russia as a percentage, you need to turn to official sources. However, there is some tension with them in the country. The fact is that thanks to freedom of religion, the state does not control the number of believers. It cannot provide accurate data on confessions and religious self-identification of citizens. Therefore, it is possible to extract any useful information only from sociological surveys of the population, and it is difficult to vouch for their reliability. Moreover, most of the sociologists' data are rather contradictory, and only after a thorough comparative analysis can any conclusions be drawn.

If we focus on the latest data from the Russian Academy of Sciences (2012-2013), then in percentage terms the religious picture looks like this:

• Seventy-nine percent of the respondents consider themselves Orthodox;
• Muslims - four percent of Russians;
• no more than one percent of the country's citizens identified themselves with other religious movements;
• nine percent of respondents did not identify themselves with any religion;
• Seven percent of the population identified themselves as atheists.

And here is what the list of religions in Russia looks like for the same years as a percentage, according to data from one of the sociological organizations:

• Orthodoxy is professed by sixty-four percent of Russians;
• other Christian movements - one percent;
• Islam, six percent;
• other religions, one percent;
• about four percent of citizens cannot self-determine.

As you can see, information from different sources is slightly different from each other. However, such statistics of religions in Russia does not distort the overall picture.

Christianity in Russia

Over the past decades, the population of our country has increasingly begun to return to the religious traditions of their ancestors. People again reached out to the temples and began to try to observe religious traditions and prescriptions. Most of the population remained faithful to the traditional religion - Christianity. In Russia, it is practiced by more than half of the country's population. However, not all of those who identified themselves with this religion attend temples and services. Most often they are called nominally Christians, meaning by this the centuries-old traditions of the Slavic people as a whole.

But do not forget that religion itself has several currents and representatives of almost everyone live on the territory of the Russian state:

• orthodoxy;
• Catholicism;
• Protestantism;
• Old Believers and other few currents.

If we state the facts without going into details, then the overwhelming majority of followers in Russia is Orthodoxy. And only then the rest of the currents follow. But all of them definitely deserve respect and attention.

Orthodoxy

If we are talking about which religion in Russia - Orthodoxy or Christianity, can claim the title of "main religion", then it is worth noting the incompetence of the question itself. For some reason, many who are ignorant of religious issues separate these concepts and put them on different sides of the barrier. However, in reality, Orthodoxy is just one of the equal denominations of Christianity. But in our country, its followers are the majority of the population.

According to some reports, more than eighty million people profess Orthodoxy. They live in different subjects of the Russian Federation and prevail in them. Naturally, the main part of believers is the Russian population. But there are many Orthodox peoples among other peoples, they include themselves:

• Karelians;
• Mari;
• Chukchi;
• Enets;
• Evenks;
• tofalars;
• Kalmyks;
• Greeks and so on.

Sociologists count at least sixty nationalities, which, out of a large number of types of religions in Russia, make their choice in favor of Orthodoxy.

Catholicism

This religion has been present in Russia since the adoption of Christianity. Over the centuries, the size of the community has constantly changed, as well as the attitude towards the confession. In some times, Catholics were highly respected, in others they were persecuted by the state authorities and the Orthodox Church.

After the revolution of the seventeenth year, the number of Catholics decreased significantly, and only in the nineties, when the attitude towards religion in general changed, the followers of the Latin rites began to actively open their churches in Russia.

On average, there are about five hundred thousand Catholics in our country; they have formed two hundred and thirty parishes united into four large dioceses.

Protestantism

This Christian denomination is one of the largest in our country. According to three years ago, it has about three million people. Such an incredible number of believers may raise doubts about the correctness of the calculations, but it must be borne in mind that the Protestant community is divided into numerous movements. These include Baptists, Lutherans, Adventists and other communities.

According to sociological services, among Christian denominations, Protestants are second only to Orthodox in the number of believers.

Orthodox associations in Russia: Old Believers

We have already mentioned that numerous religions in Russia, including Christianity, are divided into small groups that differ from each other in rituals and forms of service. Orthodoxy is no exception. Believers do not represent a single structure, they belong to various currents that have their own parishes and churches.

A vast community of Old Believers lives in the vast Russian expanses. This Orthodox trend was formed in the seventeenth century after the rejection of church reform. Patriarch Nikon ordered that all religious books be brought into line with Greek sources. This caused a split in the Orthodox Church, which continues to this day.

At the same time, the Old Believers themselves are also not united. They are divided into several church associations:

• priests;
• bespopovtsy;
• co-religionists;
• ancient Orthodox church;
• andreevtsy and similar groups.

According to rather rough estimates, each association has several thousand followers.

Islam

Data on the number of Muslims in Russia is often distorted. Experts say that Islam is practiced by about eight million people in the country. But the highest clergy themselves give completely different figures - about twenty million people.

In any case, this figure is not static. Sociologists note that every year there are two percent fewer adherents of Islam. This trend is associated with military conflicts in the Middle East.

It is noteworthy that most of the Muslims call themselves "ethnic". They are traditionally associated with this religion, but they themselves do not adhere to certain rituals, traditions, and very rarely visit the mosque.

Historians note that the Slavs are very closely connected with Islam. In the fourteenth century, it was the state religion in part of the Russian territories. Once they were Muslim khanates, but were annexed to the lands of Russia as a result of conquests.

The most numerous people professing Islam are the Tatars. They play an important role in governing the denomination and preserving the cultural traditions of their ancestors.

Judaism

Representatives of this religious trend in Russia are at least one and a half million people. Most of them are Jewish people. Jews live mainly in large cities. Approximately half of the believers settled in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Today, there are seventy synagogues in the country. A distinctive feature of the Jews living in Russia is their adherence to traditions. They regularly visit the synagogue with the whole family and perform all the prescribed rituals.

Buddhism

There are about two million Buddhists in our country. This is mainly the population of three Russian regions:

• Buryatia;
• Tuva;
• Kalmykia.

The main part of the representatives of this confession are ethnic Buddhists. They profess one religion from generation to generation and pass traditions on to their children. Over the past decades, Buddhism has become extremely popular. Many begin to study its basics for the sake of interest and then become its active followers.

The plans to build a datsan in Moscow testify to the popularization of this religious movement. This temple should turn out to be one of the largest and most luxurious in Russia.

Other religions and common beliefs

A low percentage of followers of some beliefs does not allow them to be distinguished into large and significant confessions, however, in recent years there has been an increase in all kinds of religious associations.

Of great interest is the occult, Eastern practices and neo-pagan cults. These movements have their own rituals, traditions and norms of service. Every year, the Orthodox Church notes with great concern the growth of followers of various religious beliefs. However, they have yet to be able to contain it.

Do not forget about shamanism. Many peoples, including the Udmurts, Maris and Chuvashs, despite the fact that they self-identify as Orthodox, remain committed to the ancient rites and rituals of their ancestors. Shamanism is very developed in these territories.

Residents of remote Russian villages are also returning to the faith of their ancestors. In the settlements, you can often meet followers of the Rodnovers. They revive long forgotten traditions and worship the forces of nature. There is also such a trend as folk Orthodoxy. It is somewhat akin to paganism, but has bright distinctive features.

Prohibited Religions in Russia

Despite the fact that religious freedom is sacredly observed in our country, there are certain organizations that are banned in Russia. Destructive sects and extremist groups fall into this category. What is meant by this wording? Let's try to figure it out.

A person does not always come to faith in a simple and understandable way. Sometimes on his road there are people who are members of religious groups. They are subordinate to the spiritual leader and are often completely under his control. The organizers of such groups have hypnotic abilities, knowledge of neuro-linguistic programming and other talents that allow them to control the masses. Associations with leaders who skillfully govern and direct their flock in a way that harms their mental and physical health, as well as material well-being, are called "sects." Moreover, most of them have the prefix "destructive". They influence the consciousness of people and profit at their expense. Unfortunately, there were many such organizations in Russia. We will mention some of the forbidden sects in this section in more detail:

• "White Brotherhood". The leader of the organization was a former KGB officer who skillfully applied his knowledge in practice. Approximately ten years ago, the leadership of the sect was in the dock, but before that they managed to literally zombify several thousand people. They completely lost their property and went to live in a sect, where they eked out a powerless existence from hand to mouth.
• "Neo-Pentecostals". The sect that came to us from America managed to get into its ranks about three hundred thousand adherents of different ages. The purpose of the work of the leaders of the organization was enrichment. They skillfully controlled the crowd, bringing it with words and a colorful show almost to ecstasy. In this state, people were ready to give the leaders all their property and be left with nothing.
• "Jehovah witnesses". This sect is familiar to almost any Russian, its adherents have a habit of knocking on every apartment in search of new members of the organization. The technology of recruiting sectarians is so subtly thought out that people did not even notice how they became part of a religious organization. However, the activities of the leaders pursued purely mercantile goals.

Many extremist organizations that base their activities on religious beliefs and exist for the sake of terror are unknown to the common man. However, their list is quite extensive, we cannot give it completely within the framework of the article. But we list some groupings:

• "Islamic State". There is hardly a person who does not know this name. An organization that organizes terrorist acts around the world has been banned on Russian territory for two years now.
• Jabhat al-Nusra. The group is also considered a banned religious terrorist group.
• "Nurcular". This organization is international and its activities on the territory of our country are punished according to the laws of the Russian Federation.

Many countries believe that the example of Russia, which has managed to unite many peoples and religious movements, must be considered on a global scale. Indeed, in some states the problem of religion is very acute. But in our country, every citizen chooses for himself which god he should believe in.

The religious composition of the population of Russia - the composition of the population of the Russian Federation by religion, confessional affiliation.

In Russia, as in all democratic countries whose citizens enjoy the right to freedom of conscience and religion, religious affiliation is considered a personal matter. There is no official record of believers; therefore, statistical data on the religious composition of the population are fragmentary and approximate.

The most common religions in Russia are Christianity (Orthodoxy), Islam, Buddhism. A significant part of the country's population are non-believers.

Legal foundations of religious life in Russia

The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrined the following legal principles regarding religion and the religious life of citizens:

the creation and activities of public associations whose goals or actions are aimed at inciting ethnic and religious hatred are prohibited (Chapter 1, Article 13);

The Russian Federation is a secular state; no religion can be established as a state or obligatory one (Chapter 1, Article 14);

religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law (Chapter 1, Article 14);

the state guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of nationality, attitude to religion, beliefs; any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on the grounds of religious affiliation is prohibited (Chapter 2, Article 19);

everyone is guaranteed freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them (Chapter 2, Article 28);

propaganda or agitation inciting religious hatred and enmity is not allowed; propaganda of religious superiority is prohibited (Chapter 2, Article 29);

a citizen of the Russian Federation in the event that military service is contrary to his convictions or religion, as well as in other cases established by federal law, has the right to replace it with alternative civilian service (Chapter 2, Article 59).

According to the Federal Law of September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ "On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations":

freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are guaranteed in the Russian Federation, including the right to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, to freely choose and change, to have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and to act in accordance with them;

no one is obliged to report their attitude to religion and can not be subjected to coercion in determining their attitude to religion, to confess or refuse to confess religion, to participate or not to participate in worship, other religious rites and ceremonies, in the activities of religious associations, in teaching religion .

Thus, the law establishes the right of citizens not to answer questions about religious affiliation. This makes it difficult to collect statistics on the religious composition of the Russian population.

In fixing the equality of different religions, the law takes into account the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia, in the formation and development of Russian culture. At the same time, the law indicates that other religions that are widespread in Russia (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.) are an integral part of the historical heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

Religious Composition of the Russian Population: 2012 Survey

There are no official statistics regarding the religious affiliation of Russians. All data on the religious composition of the Russian population was collected in the course of various sociological surveys. The number of followers of a particular denomination is estimated differently, depending on the methods and scope of research.

In 2012, an All-Russian representative survey of the population was carried out with the aim of compiling a picture of the religions and nationalities of Russia. The questionnaires took into account the number, geographical and administrative distribution, adherence to religious practices, worldview and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents.

The survey was conducted among Russians living in cities and rural areas. The sample consisted of 56,900 respondents aged 18 and over from 79 subjects of the Russian Federation.

Religious affiliation	Number of followers
Orthodox (churched)
Believers (no specific religious affiliation)
Muslims
Christians
Sunni Muslims
Orthodox outside the Church
pagans
Buddhists
Old Believers
Protestants
Shia Muslims
Catholics
Judaists
Hindus
Pentecostals

According to the survey, the majority of Orthodox Christians are in Tambov, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kursk, Ryazan, Penza and Tula regions, as well as in Mordovia. The least Orthodox are in the republics of Tyva and Dagestan.

The highest percentage of the Muslim population is in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Bashkiria, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Dagestan and Tatarstan. The smallest number of Muslims (about 0.1%) lives in the Orel, Smolensk, Tambov, Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, Kursk regions and the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Buddhists live mainly in Tuva, Kalmykia, Buryatia, and also in the Trans-Baikal Territory. Least of all Buddhists are in the Kaliningrad, Tyumen, Murmansk regions, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The highest rates of atheism are among the population of Primorsky Krai, Altai Krai, Yakutia, Amur Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, Kaliningrad Oblast, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. The fewest atheists are in Dagestan and North Ossetia.

Changes in the Religious Composition of the Russian Population: 1991 - 2011

In August 2011, the Levada Center conducted a survey on a representative all-Russian sample of the urban and rural population. The respondents included 1,624 people aged 18 and over, living in 130 settlements in 45 regions of the country. The results were compared with data from previous surveys and expressed as a percentage.

Orthodoxy
Catholicism
Protestantism
Other religion
I don't consider myself a believer
Difficult to answer

Christians in modern Russia

According to a 2010 VTsIOM poll, two-thirds of Russians observe religious rites, but not systematically, but only occasionally (mainly on holidays).

According to the survey, 75% of the population of Russia are Christians. Of the Christians, 84% were baptized (89% in 1989). About 50% of Christians read the Holy Scriptures (in 1989 there were only 38% of those who read).

Among Orthodox Christians, 94% of respondents were baptized, among followers of other Christian religions - 58%. The smallest number of baptized believers is in the Far East (66%). Among women professing the Christian religion, 88% were baptized, among men - 79%.

In this article we will give an answer to 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, which has been in force since 1993.

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.

Yezidism

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 villages slightly northwest of Yerevan. In the Armavir region of the state on September 29, 2012, the temple "Ziarat" was solemnly opened.

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 Yezidis of Armenia.

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

We analyzed the Christian religion of Armenia. 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 specifically for Muslims.

Today in this state, the community of Muslim Kurds 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.

neo-paganism

Are 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 living 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.

Incessantly, 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, as 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 belief in Russia

The beliefs and religion of the Russian people prompted Emperor Nicholas II in 1905 (April 17) to issue a personal imperial 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 established 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 has helped you get a general idea of ​​Russian religions.