Poll Suggests Russia Is Europe’s Most Pious Nation

[thomon16]

Russians are the most pious nation in Europe, most atheists are male, and Orthodox Christians outnumber Muslims overwhelmingly, according to two recent polls.

The surveys, however, also indicate that the country’s leading religious denomination, the Russian Orthodox Church, may be seriously overestimating its membership, and avoided the tricky question about whether belief translates into active worship — which earlier polls indicate it does not.

themoscowtimes.com/news/article/poll-suggests-russia-is-europes-most-pious-nation/436344.html

 

[Young_Thinker]

The church leadership is losing support due to its attempts to build a “power vertical” similar to the one constructed by the Kremlin, said the magazine, which cited interviews with numerous priests, members of the laity and church critics in various regions. Senior church officials cited by the magazine denied any negative shift in mood.

I wonder what is meant by a “power vertical.” I take it to mean that the Russian Orthodox Church is becoming more centralized or bureaucratic. Is that is the case, then how so (other than the rumors that it is largely run by former K.G.B. agents, but such activity is probably a common phenomenon in Russia.)? And why would people stop attending Divine Liturgy because of it (or is would it just be another excuse for non-churchgoers)?

 

[Scoobyshme]

If, in fact, the poll is correct, I would say they are more pious because they have suffered more.

 

[manualman]

I’m a bit dubious. I have a friend who has spent years as an evangelical non-denom ‘missionary’ in Siberia (Akademgordok, spelling?). Her impression is that the people she encounters are typically as secularized as Americans are and in many cases even more ignorant of their culture’s history of religious faith than we are due to the decades of communist oppression.

But then, she’s an evangelical, so her perspective has a decidedly non-sacramental / non-mysterious flavor to it.

 

[JHow]

I’m a bit dubious. I have a friend who has spent years as an evangelical non-denom ‘missionary’ in Siberia (Akademgordok, spelling?). Her impression is that the people she encounters are typically as secularized as Americans are and in many cases even more ignorant of their culture’s history of religious faith than we are due to the decades of communist oppression.

But then, she’s an evangelical, so her perspective has a decidedly non-sacramental / non-mysterious flavor to it.

My evidence is only anecotal, and it has been a while since I visited, but I spent a summer in St. Petersburg in 1993 and my sense was, despite communist oppression, Russians were very aware of their cultural heritage. That was a time when some churches were being re-opened after many decades closure, streets were losing their communist names, etc. The people I met ranged from academics to buss-drivers to students, and the sense I got was of people re-connecting to their own tradition, to a more normal life.