In the 10th century Prince Vladimir I, who was converted by missionaries from Byzantium, adopted Christianity as the official religion for Russia, and for nearly 1,000 years thereafter the Russian Orthodox church was the country’s dominant religious institution. 2.What is the main religion of Russia? Organized religion was repressed by Soviet authorities for most of the 20th century, and the nonreligious still constitute more than one-fourth of the population. Slavs are usually subdivided into East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians), West Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Lusatians [Sorbs]), and South Slavs (Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Bulgars).. Officially, there is no official religion of Russia. Article 14 of the 1993 constitution stipulates that "the Russian Federation is a secular state. Higher rates of natural increase (population growth resulting from more births than deaths) continue among some minority groups, particularly those of Islamic background. Most of the information about the Slavic religion comes from the records made by Christians who brought Christianity to Russia, as well as from Russian folklore, but there is still a lot that we don't know about the early Slav paganism. Family Life. After the communists took power in 1917, religious institutions suffered. There have also been more restrictive laws adopted in some Russian regions, which means that the situation with the freedom of religious expression varies across Russia. The dislike of the clergy among the peasants can be seen in Russian folktales and mythology (byliny). During the 1990s, however, eastern Siberia (at least according to official statistics) suffered a dramatic population decline, a result of substantial outmigrations caused by the phaseout of heavy government subsidies, upon which it was heavily dependent. Today, 71 percent of Russians identify as Orthodox. The constitution of the former Soviet Union nominally guaranteed religious freedom, but religious activities were greatly constrained, and membership in religious organizations was considered incompatible with membership in the Communist Party. https://www.thoughtco.com/religion-in-russia-4588548 (accessed May 11, 2021). Russian Culture: Facts, Customs & Traditions | Live Science Beyond the Yenisey the settled zone breaks up into a series of pockets in the extreme south, along the line of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, of which the largest is that in the Amur-Ussuri-Zeya lowlands of southeastern Siberia. Russia’s second most popular religion is Islam. While Russian Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion here in terms of adherents and influence, it is not the only religion. The bulk of the rural population lives in large villages associated with the collective and state farms (kolkhozy and sovkhozy, respectively) established by the former Soviet regime. For example, groups not meeting this requirement at the time the law was implemented (such as Roman Catholics and Mormons) were unable to operate educational institutions or disseminate religious literature. What is the major religion of Russia and Eastern Europe? Islam is the second most common religion in Russia. Because migration out of rural areas was particularly prevalent among the young, many rural areas are now inhabited primarily by the elderly. Vladimir himself was an ardent pagan who erected wooden statues of deities, had five wives and around 800 concubines, and had a reputation of a bloodthirsty warrior. In Soviet Russia, all religion was banned. ThoughtCo. Indeed, Russian nationalists who emerged beginning in the 1990s identified the Russian Orthodox church as a major element of Russian culture. Although there is some degree of correlation between language and religion, the two do not correspond entirely. There are also many Muslims in the Caucasus and some other regions. Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, about one-third of its Jewish population lived in Russia (though many did not practice Judaism), and now about one-tenth of all Jews in Russia reside in Moscow. During WWII, the Church experienced a short revival as Stalin looked for ways to increase the patriotic mood, but that quickly ended after the war. Select personalised content. Measure content performance. The Russian Orthodox Church played a major role in the history of Russia dating back centuries. Hebrew was only taught in schools for diplomats, and most synagogues were closed under Stalin and then Khrushchev. Answer to: What is Russia's main religion? After Russian Orthodoxy, Islam is the next most widely practiced religion in Russia. Christian cartoons were being shown on main TV channels, and new churches were built or old ones restored. Cathedral of St. Russia has experienced a revival of religion since the start of the new millennium. Estimates include 96.9% (CIA, 2010) and 99.2% (Pew Research Center, 2006) of the population identifying as Muslim. It may be that after the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991, Russians felt freer to express the religious identities they had quietly maintained during the Soviet era. (VCIOM 2006) In the cities, particularly Moscow, population densities are comparable to other European cities. In the Ural Mountains region, the towns are more widely spaced and include numerous small mining and industrial centres as well as a number of towns with more than 250,000 inhabitants, which altogether amount to an urban population about half that of the Moscow region. Religions: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2%; note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule 2006: Religions > All It is the primary religion of ethnic Buryats, Kalmyks, and Tuvans. The biggest religion in Russia is Orthodox Christianity. In the tenth century, Prince Vladimir The Great, the ruler of Kievan Rus, decided to unite his people and create an image of Kievan Rus as a strong, civilized country. They saw the forest as a border between this world and the Underworld, which is reflected in many folktales where the hero has to cross the forest in order to achieve their goal. Resort towns are a feature of the North Caucasus region, including Sochi (on the Black Sea), Pyatigorsk, and Mineralnye Vody. Store and/or access information on a device. Thousands of Buddhist monks were killed during the Soviet Union, too. Kievan Rus, Medieval Principalities in Eastern Europe, Understanding Russian Culture: Holidays and Traditions, Svarog, God of the Sky in Slavic Mythology, Perun, Slavic God of the Sky and Universe, Most Important Things to Know About the Country of Georgia, we don't know about the early Slav paganism, In 1997, a new law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations, M.F.A., Creative Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University, Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7, Russian), Chartered Institute of Linguists. It’s thought the country is home to around 14 to 20 million Muslims, making up 10 to 16 per cent of Russia’s population. There was also a steep drop in life expectancy beginning in the early 1990s, a result of inadequacies in the health-care system and poor nutrition; high smoking and alcoholism rates and environmental pollution were also considered contributing factors. Pagan beliefs have survived alongside Christianity. For example, Christianity predominates among the Chuvash, Buddhism prevails among large numbers of Altai, Khakass, and Tyvans, and many Turkic speakers east of the Yenisey have retained their shamanistic beliefs (though some have converted to Christianity). With the advent of Christianity, paganism became an underground religion. In the early 21st century, for example, roughly one-sixth of the population of Russia was below age 15, while the proportion of those age 60 and above topped one-fifth. Sakha (Yakutia)—a minority republic that, with an area of about 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million square km) and about one million inhabitants, has a density of less than one person per square mile—is typical of this zone. In 1997, a new law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations was passed, which acknowledged Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism as traditional religions in Russia. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Nearly three-fourths of Russia’s population live in what are classified as urban areas. Mokosh was a female deity and was associated with weaving. This is reflected even now in the highly superstitious, ritual-loving Russian character. Most are adherents of Shia Islam (approximately 85%), with a minority (15%) being Sunni, differences traditionally have not been defined sharply. Other common religions on the territory of Russia are Buddhism, Judaism and Protestantism. "Religion in Russia." Russians see in it an opportunity to connect with their Slavic roots and rebuild an identity different from the West. Ultimately, the number of Russians who consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians is currently at over 70% of the population. World History Answer Check. Since the mid-19th century, industrialization and economic development have led to a substantial increase in urbanization. Catholicism was deemed too stern, and so Vladimir settled on Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox Christianity C. Protestantism D. Judaism These farms have carried on the long-established Russian tradition of communal farming from nucleated settlements. Jews long suffered discrimination in Russia, including purges in the 19th century, repression under the regime of Joseph Stalin, and Nazi atrocities on Russian soil during World War II. Today Russian Orthodoxy is the country’s largest religious denomination, representing more than half of all adherents. List of Partners (vendors). In antiquity the Slavs were perhaps the largest branch of the Indo … The Orthodox faith is very strict. Religion has played a very important role in the evolution of Russian culture. The reign of Peter I (the Great; 1689–1725), The reign of Catherine II (the Great; 1762–96), Government administration under Catherine, Education and social change in the 18th century, The Civil War and War Communism (1918–21), The Gorbachev era: perestroika and glasnost, Ethnic relations and Russia’s “near-abroad”, Consolidation of power, Syria, and campaign against the West, monks praying at the Ivolginsky Datsan temple. Most believers in Russia are Christians in the form of Orthodoxy. There are also 25 million Muslims, around 1.5 million Buddhists, and over 179,000 Jewish people. But Christianity wasn't the first religion that Russians followed. Some four-fifths of the country’s population live in the main settled belt of European Russia, extending between St. Petersburg (northwestern Russia), Kemerovo (Siberia), Orsk (southern Urals), and Krasnodar (northern Caucasus). The choice was between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and within it, Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Church. Turkic speakers are predominantly Muslim, although several Turkic groups in Russia are not. Here are some main historical periods in the evolution of religion in Russia. Nikitina, Maia. Maia Nikitina is a writer and Russian language translator. Major cities also occur at widely separated points along the length of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, including, from west to east, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok. In 1997 legislation was enacted that constrained denominations outside five “traditional” religions—Russian Orthodoxy, several other Christian denominations, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism—restricting the activities of groups not registered in the country for at least 15 years. Church officials being greeted outside the Trinity–St. There are almost 60 millions of Christians all over the Russia, what makes 41% from the whole number of believers. Beginning in the 1890s and continuing throughout the next century, many people in Russia migrated from the European portion of the country to Siberia, which constitutes three-fourths of the country’s territory but contains only about one-fifth of its population. Catholics, both Western rite (Roman) and Eastern rite (Uniate), and Lutherans were numerous in the former Soviet Union but lived mainly outside present-day Russia, where there are few adherents. Churches were demolished or turned into social clubs, the clergy was shot or sent to camps, and it became forbidden to teach religion to one's own children. Measure ad performance. In 1997 Russian law referred to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the four religions significant in Russian history. Develop and improve products. Harshly persecuted under Stalin, when most temples and monasteries were destroyed and lamas murdered or sent to the Gulag, Buddhism has made a steady revival, and today claims several million adherents, among ethnic Slavs as well as traditionally Buddhist populations. Religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law." For example, in the 1980s, when Russia’s population increased by about 7 percent, growth exceeded 15 percent in much of Siberia but was less than 2 percent in parts of western Russia. The main urban concentration east of the Urals is in the Kuznetsk Basin (Kuzbass), which is a centre for mining and industry. St. Petersburg (the tsarist capital) stands alone as the northernmost metropolis, whereas Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod are part of the large urbanized central industrial region, which has a score of large cities, numerous smaller towns, and an urban population that constitutes about one-fifth of Russia’s total. That Prince Vladimir, the Slavic ruler credited with the Christianization of Rus’ (not Russia), allegedly ordered all the inhabitants of Kiev, his capital city, to appear at the river for baptism on a particular day in 988 or they would be considered enemies of the kingdom?. According to the legend, Vladimir received Mohammedan, Latin, and Greek legates, who urged him to adopt their respective religions. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-modern-russia.html Vladimir rejected Islam as he thought that it would pose too many restrictions on the freedom-loving Russian soul. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Anna and Vladimir married in a Christian ceremony, and upon his return to Kiev, Vladimir ordered the demolition of any pagan deity statues and a country-wide baptism of his citizens. There were several pagan uprisings, all violently squashed. Declines in life expectancy were more pronounced among men and resulted in a growing gap between the number of men and women in the country. Individual farms started to reappear in the post-Soviet years. The main religion in Azerbaijan is Islam, though Azerbaijan is the most secular country in the Muslim world. Select basic ads. Street scene in Khabarovsk, a major transportation hub in the Russian Far East. Religions were a way of asserting Russia’s status as a regional power in the eighteenth century, and major European power in the nineteenth century. Over 70% of Russians consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians, and the number is growing. Russian families don't differ drastically from families around the world. It was a source of anti-Semitism, including the fake Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The 1997 law on religion has made it more difficult for less established religious groups in Russia to register, worship, or exercise the freedom of religious belief. ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/religion-in-russia-4588548. Judaism was rejected because he believed that he could not adopt a religion that had not helped the Jewish people hold on to their own land. Vast stretches of thinly settled and empty territories lie north of the main settled belt. Sergius monastery, the centre of Russian Orthodoxy, in Sergiyev Posad, Russia, north of Moscow. In the last decades of the 20th century, the rural population fell by some one-fourth in the European section, though it grew in what is now the Southern federal district. Over 70% of Russians consider themselves to be Russian Orthodox Christians. By 1995 there were nearly 300,000 private farms, though in the next decade the numbers stagnated or declined. Since the 1990s, many Russians have rediscovered religion, including Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Slavic Paganism. However, it is on the cusp of the millennium that many Russians began associating the Russian Orthodox Church with the true Russian spirit. Islam was at first treated slightly better than Christianity, due to Bolsheviks' view of it as a center of "the reaction." Elsewhere, the capitals of provinces and other administrative divisions are the main towns, having grown to considerable size as the organizing centres for their territories. However, Vladimir could see that uniting the country with one clear religion would be beneficial. European Russia also includes a portion of the Donets Basin (Donbass) industrial zone, arbitrarily split by the Russia-Ukraine boundary; this area’s largest city is Rostov-na-Donu, but there are numerous smaller centres. Select personalised ads. The main target of the anti-religion campaign was the Russian Orthodox Church, as it had the most followers. The Russian Orthodox Church, which nowadays acts as a privileged religion of Russia, has the power to decide which other religions can be registered as official religions. She holds a Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7) from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Pictured here are Jews, Russian Orthodox, Muslims, and Buddhists. The efforts of Olga to convert her son Sviatoslaff to Christianity were unsuccessful. The dominant religion is Russian Orthodoxy, but other smaller Christian denominations also exist - Catholics, Armenian Greogorians, and a variety of Protestant churches. As soon as the Communist era began in 1917, the Soviet government made it its job to eradicate religion in the Soviet Union. An aging population and the drop in fertility rates led many demographers to foresee a long-term labour shortage. There are around 200 million practitioners of this religious tradition. Perun was the most important deity and represented thunder, while Mother Earth was revered as the mother of all things. They also include the Old Believers and the Molokans. East of the Urals, across the southern part of the West Siberian Plain, rural densities are considerably lower, rarely exceeding 65 persons per square mile. Vladimir, son of Sviatoslaff, has the glory of having established Christianity as the official State religion in Russia. Create a personalised content profile. The Russian Orthodox Church has been particularly active in attracting new followers due to its image as the true Russian religion. Orthodox Christianity is thriving after enduring a 70-year period of atheistic Soviet rule. Russia based its actions on three sorts of religious actor. Catholicism Orthodox Christianity Protestantism Judaism. 1. Traditional religions, those deemed part of Russia’s “historical heritage”, include Orthodox Christianity (63% of the population), Islam (6% of the population), Buddhism (<1%), and Judaism (<1%). The church was forced to forfeit most of its property, and many monks were evicted from their monasteries. Some regions of Russia are closer to Buddhism. LOGIN TO VIEW ANSWER. During the 1990s Russia began experiencing a negative population growth rate. The long-declining Russian birth rate has led to a progressive aging of the population. Slavs are overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. Ultimately, most of the country continued with dual allegiance to both Christianity and, in everyday life, to paganism. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, the more open environment of the Perestroika encouraged the opening of many Sunday schools and a general resurgence of interest in Orthodox Christianity. Judaism had a similar fate as Christianity in the Soviet Union, with the added persecution and discrimination, especially during Stalin. The Interreligious Council of Russia works is composed of most major leaders of most major religions in Russia. But Russia, in my opinion, has remained the most religious country in Europe. Basil the Blessed, Moscow, Russia. Slavic gods often had several heads or faces. Overall, any religions or religious organizations that are considered "non-traditional" according to the federal law, have experienced issues such as being unable to build or own places of worship, harassment from the authorities, violence, and denial of access to media time. In 988, during a military campaign in Byzantine, Vladimir demanded to marry Anna, sister of Byzantine emperors. Hinduism has been spread in Russia basically because of crafted by researchers from the strict association International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and by nomad Swamis from India and little networks of Indian outsiders. The subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union made religious freedom a reality and revealed that large sections of the population had continued to practice a variety of faiths. Almost all Russian Muslims are Sunnis but there are small pockets of Shiites in the Caucasus. "Religion in Russia." Christian community in Russia is the largest one. War on the western front devastated Russia’s army, causing Czar Nicholas to . ... Russia’s victories in World War I led to Czar Nicholas’s abdication and retirement. Religion in Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1945. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/religion-in-russia-4588548. In the second half of the 20th century, rural depopulation was a pronounced characteristic, occurring faster in the European section. What is the major religion of Russia and Eastern Europe? The only slightly less-populous Volga region has towns strung out along the riverbanks, with a particularly dense concentration in the vicinity of Samara. The proportion of children was generally higher, and that of the elderly lower, among the non-Russian ethnic groups, which have maintained a somewhat higher birth rate. More-open expression of Christian beliefs was permitted during World War II, when the government sought the support of Christians and Jews in the fight against fascism, but restrictions were reimposed when the war ended. Paganism has also become popular again, after centuries of repression. The vast majority of Russians identify as Orthodox Christians, loyal to the religion that came here more than thousand years ago. I n Russia, there is a religious revival happening. Early Slavs were pagans and had a multitude of deities. He also disliked Christianity because of his rival brother Yaropolk. In the 1930s Stalin established the Jewish Autonomous Region in the Soviet Far East as a Jewish province, though by the early 21st century only about 5 percent of the province’s population was Jewish. They work together to promote interfaith understanding and tolerance and to … Veles, or Volos, was the god of abundance, since he was responsible for the cattle. Establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church. And so the Russian Empire also used religions in its foreign policy. While most main religions were not outlawed in the Soviet Union, the state promoted its policy of state atheism, which was taught at school and encouraged in academic writing. A few very isolated cities are located in the far north, notably the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk and mining centres such as Vorkuta and Norilsk. The North-Eastern parts of the country, centered around Rostov, were particularly hostile to the new religion. Use precise geolocation data. In the 10th century Prince Vladimir I, who was converted by missionaries from Byzantium, adopted Christianity as the official religion for Russia, and for nearly 1,000 years thereafter the Russian Orthodox church was the country’s dominant religious institution. Several major urban concentrations have developed in the main industrial regions. A. Catholicism B. (2020, August 27). Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In 1991, just after the collapse of the USSR, about two-thirds of Russians claimed no religious affiliation. Religion - The traditional religions in Russia are Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. Religion plays a prominent role in the public and spiritual life of todays Russia. Until the 1990s migration from the European sector to Siberia was the primary cause of regional variations in population growth rates. In the 1980s, under the reformist regime of Mikhail Gorbachev, a policy of glasnost (“openness”) was declared, allowing greater toleration for the open practice of religion. Buddhism is common among the Mongolian-speaking Buryat and Kalmyk. Upon entering a church, women must cover their hair, while men … Primary reasons for this was a decline in the fertility rate (particularly of ethnic Russians) similar to that in Japan and in many western European countries. Russia Other Religions. Private farms, however, still produce a tiny fraction of agricultural output. At the same time, over a third of Orthodox Christian Russians do not believe in the existence of God. Russia was pagan until the tenth century, when it adopted Christianity as a way to have a united religion. Religion is a matter of national identity rather than faith for the majority of contemporary Russians. One of the architectural evidence of a peaceful religion acceptance in Russia … Slavic religion, beliefs and practices of the ancient Slavic peoples of eastern Europe. Nikitina, Maia. A Buddhist monk beating a drum as other monks pray in the Ivolginsky Datsan temple, Buryatia republic, eastern Siberia, Russia. Temple of all religion. Religion in Russia. Other Christian denominations are much smaller and include the Old Believers, who separated from the Russian Orthodox church in the 17th century, and Baptist and Evangelical groups, which grew somewhat in membership during the 20th century. Recognized under the law and by Russian political leaders as one of Russia's traditional religions, Population densities in the rural areas in this section range from 25 to 250 persons per square mile, with the higher concentrations occurring in the wooded steppe. Beginning with Gorbachev’s reformist policies in the 1980s, Jewish emigration to Israel and elsewhere was permitted on an increasing scale, and the number of Jews living in Russia (and all parts of the former Soviet Union) has decreased. Both the mother … 1Answers. Only around 5% actually attend church regularly and follow the church calendar. It supported serfdom and monarchism. Buddhism was officially recognized in Russia in 1741. Moscow, the largest metropolis, has twice the population of its nearest rival, St. Petersburg, which in turn dwarfs the size of Russia’s other major cities, such as Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky), Novosibirsk, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-na-Donu, Samara (formerly Kuybyshev), Ufa, and Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk). Muslims constitute Russia’s second largest religious group. No religion may be established as the state religion or a compulsory religion. However, that ended around 1929, and Islam experienced similar treatment as other religions, with mosques shut down or turned into warehouses. They agreed, providing that he is baptized beforehand, which he agreed to. Answer and Explanation: The major religion of Russia and for Eastern Europe is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. However, many Russians see their Christian identity as quite symbolic. The statues were chopped and burned or thrown into the river. The majority of believers belong to the After the communists took power in 1917, religious institutions suffered. Russian Christmas, celebrated on the night of January 6, was no longer a public holiday, and many of its rituals and traditions moved to the New Year's Eve, which even now remains the most loved and celebrated Russian holiday. Establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Church has a privileged position and gets to decide which other religions can be officially registered. Create a personalised ads profile. The 1990s marked the beginning of a revival in religion in Russia. Thus, open profession of religious belief was a hindrance to individual advancement. Early Slavs performed their rituals in the open nature, worshiping trees, rivers, stones, and everything around them. Nikitina, Maia. Although ethnic differences in Russia have long contained a religious element, the position of religious organizations and of their individual adherents has varied with political circumstances. By signing up, you'll get thousands of step-by-step solutions to your homework questions. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. 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