What is the Religion of Russia In 2024 | Main Religion & History
Russia is a huge country with a lot of history and culture spread across eleven time zones. Religion is a complicated and interesting part of Russian life. And You know what, You can’t say there’s just one “Russian religion.”
This blog post looks into the different aspects of faith in Russia, giving a peek into its spiritual side. Also, I’ll explore what is the religion of Russia today.
What is the History of Religion in Russia?
Religion plays a big part in Russia’s public and spiritual life today. Most believers are part of the Orthodox Christian group.
Back in 988, Russia officially adopted Christianity under Prince Vladimir of Kiev. They did this in a ceremony following Byzantine customs. This event set the stage for the rise of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1448, the Council of Russian higher clergy picked Bishop Iona of Ryazan to be the leader in Moscow and All Russia. This was independent of Constantinople, making the Russian Orthodox Church self-governing.
They set up a big chair in Moscow in 1589, and Tova became the first leader on January 26.
Nikon, the leader from 1652 to 1658, tried hard to change church traditions and service books to match those of Greek churches. His changes caused a split, leading to what’s known as the Old Belief.
The self-governing system lasted in Russia until the early 18th century. In 1718, Peter the Great brought in shared control in the Russian Church. This only lasted until 1721 when the Ecclesiastical College became a ruling Holy Synod, running the administrative side of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1917, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church made a decision to bring back the old leadership.
After the upheavals in 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church had a tough time. The Land Decree on October 26, 1917, took away most of the Church’s lands, especially hurting the monasteries. Another decree on January 26, 1918, separated the church from the state and school. This meant that all church groups lost their legal rights and couldn’t own property.
To make this happen, a special committee was set up to kick the monks out of their monasteries. Many monasteries got destroyed, and some people broke church things and opened shrines with relics.
In the late 1980s, when they were trying to change the country’s system, the relationship between the state and the Church got better. The big celebration of Christianity’s thousand years in Russia in 1988 saw the registration of 1,610 new religious groups, mostly Orthodox.
In 1990, they made new rules about freedom of religion. This meant that religious groups could do more things because many restrictions were taken away.
What is the Religion of Russia Country Today?
Russia has many religions. The biggest one is the Russian Orthodox Church, with over 5,000 groups in the country. After that, there are Muslim groups (about 3,000), Baptists (450), Seventh Day Adventists (120), Evangelicals (120), Old Believers (over 200), Roman Catholics (200), Krishnaites (68), Buddhists (80), Judaists (50), and Unified Evangelical Lutherans (39).
They’ve given back a lot of churches and monasteries to the Russian Orthodox Church, like the St. Daniel Monastery, which is now the main place for the Moscow Patriarchate, the most important part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Around 40% of the people in Russia believe in a religion, and there are more than 9,000 groups from more than 40 different beliefs.
Most religious Russians are Christians. There are over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches in the country. Many are new or being fixed using money from local areas.
They’re also working on big projects like the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, built in Red Square to remember when Minin and Pozharsky’s militia freed Moscow. It was knocked down in 1936 but recently built again. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, taken down in 1931, is back. Patriarch Alexei II said it’s a “great act of love and saying sorry.”
Before 1917, Russia had 150 Roman Catholic groups, two schools for religion, and a big school. They were all stopped in the Soviet years, and the believers—people from Lithuania, Poland, and Germany—had to leave and go to Siberia and Central Asia.
Now, 83 groups are back, and there are leaders connected to the Vatican in Moscow and Novosibirsk. There are four leaders and 165 priests for about 1,300,000 Catholics in Russia.
Russia has many religions. The biggest one is the Russian Orthodox Church, with over 5,000 groups in the country. After that, there are Muslim groups (about 3,000), Baptists (450), Seventh Day Adventists (120), Evangelicals (120), Old Believers (over 200), Roman Catholics (200), Krishnaites (68), Buddhists (80), Judaists (50), and Unified Evangelical Lutherans (39).
They’ve given back a lot of churches and monasteries to the Russian Orthodox Church, like the St. Daniel Monastery, which is now the main place for the Moscow Patriarchate, the most important part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Around 40% of the people in Russia believe in a religion, and there are more than 9,000 groups from more than 40 different beliefs.
Most religious Russians are Christians. There are over 5,000 Russian Orthodox churches in the country. Many are new or being fixed using money from local areas.
They’re also working on big projects like the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, built in Red Square to remember when Moscow was freed by Minin and Pozharsky’s militia. It was knocked down in 1936, but recently built again. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, taken down in 1931, is back. Patriarch Alexei II said it’s a “great act of love and saying sorry.”
Before 1917, Russia had 150 Roman Catholic groups, two schools for religion, and a big school. They were all stopped in the Soviet years, and the believers—people from Lithuania, Poland, and Germany—had to leave and go to Siberia and Central Asia. Now, 83 groups are back, and there are leaders connected to the Vatican in Moscow and Novosibirsk. There are four leaders and 165 priests for about 1,300,000 Catholics in Russia.
Fastest-Growing Religion in Russia
As I mentioned above, Muslims are the second-biggest religious group in Russia. But how many Muslim in Russia? In Russia, there are over 800 places of worship for the nineteen million-strong Muslim community. Undoubtedly, Islam is the best religion in the world and the fastest-growing religion in Russia.
They are mostly in Bashkortostan, Daghestan, Kabarda-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. There’s a group for the Central European area, and the Moscow Muftiyat takes care of places like Moscow, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tula, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Kaliningrad, and Sochi, a famous beach place in the Krasnodar Territory.
Buddhism is common in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, Irkutsk, and Chits. Russia has ten datsan monasteries now, and ten more are being made.
There are 42 Jewish groups in Russia. Moscow has more than 10% of Russian Jews and three synagogues, with one being Hasidic.
FAQs
What is the religion of Russia president?
The current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, identifies as a Russian Orthodox Christian.
What was the religion of Russia before Christianity?
Before Christianity, the dominant religion in Russia was a pagan belief system known as Slavic paganism, centered around deities like Perun and Veles.
What is the main religion in Russia?
The main religion in Russia is Russian Orthodox Christianity, practiced by around 70% of the population.
Do Russian Orthodox believe in God?
Yes, followers of Russian Orthodoxy, like other Christians, believe that God sent Jesus Christ—His son and a part of Himself—to make a new agreement with people all around the world. Jesus Christ went through crucifixion, but He came back to life and went up to heaven.
How is Orthodox different from Christianity?
In the Catholic Church, people think the pope is never wrong regarding teachings. But in Orthodoxy, believers don’t agree with this about the pope. They see their leaders, called patriarchs, as human and able to make mistakes. This makes them similar to Protestants, who also don’t accept the pope as having the highest authority.
Summing Up
Russia is a big country with many cultures and religions. When considering the question “What is the religion of Russia?” the primary faith is Orthodox Christianity.
But, there are also religions like Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and even Shamanism.
After Orthodox Christianity, Islam is the second most practiced religion in Russia, followed by Roman Catholicism and Judaism. Even though most people in Russia believe in a religion, many don’t follow any religion.
