Atheism Drops Dramatically in Russia
07-27-2017
The number of Russians who call themselves atheists has fallen by 50 percent in only three years, according to a new poll.
The independent Levada Research Center conducted the survey in late June.
It showed that Russian atheists and those who describe themselves as "absolutely irreligious," dropped from 26 percent in 2014 to 13 percent in 2017.
Religious believers now make up 86 percent of the Russian population and 44 percent say they are "quite religious," but that number included Islam and eastern religions.
The poll found that the Russian Orthodox Church remains the major denomination by far in Russia, with 9 out of 10 respondents saying they view the Orthodox church with "respect and benevolence."
74 percent of Russians view the Roman Catholic church with "respect and benevolence," 61 percent hold a favorable view of Protestantism, followed by 59 percent for Islam and 56 percent who said they respect Judaism.
