Russians identify with Orthodox Church, but do not attend

February 13, 2014

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the number of Russians who identify themselves as Christians has soared, but the number attending church services regularly remains low, a Pew Research survey has found.

In 1991, just 31% of Russians identified themselves as Orthodox, Pew reports, and in 2008 that figure had jumped to 72%. Other religious groups also saw an increase in their numbers. Over the same period, the percentage of Russians with no religious affiliation dropped from 61% to 18%.

However, only 7% of the Russian people surveyed reported attending religious services at least once a month. That figure was only slightly up from the 2% reported in 1991.

 

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Further information:

• Russians Return to Religion, But Not to Church (Pew)