Moscow, October 20, 2022
Photo: argumenti.ru
According to a new sociological survey, half of Russian society (51%) believes the Russian Orthodox Church has an influence on the spiritual and moral state of society.
About the same amount (45%) believe the Church should influence society in this way, but that it shouldn’t interfere in politics and state affairs, while 31% believe the Church is too active in the life of society and state affairs and should pay more attention to spiritual issues.
The All-Russian Society for the Study of Public Opinion published the findings of its most recent research yesterday. The research was conducted among a stratified random sample of 1,600 people 18 years of age or older.
While Orthodoxy remains the dominant religion in Russia, the percentage of those who recognize the Church’s influence on various spheres of life has dropped from 63% to 51% over the past 10 years, according to sociological research.
About a third of Russians (35%) say the Church has an influence on their own lives, while 49% said the same in 2012. The share of those who say it has a strong influence on their life ranges from 9% to 14%, and increases with age.
Russians’ view of relations between the Church, state, and society hasn’t changed over the past 10 years, with 58% saying they recognize the Church’s influence in public and political life. Of these, 45% believe it should influence the spiritual life of society without interfering in politics and state affairs. A third of respondents (33%) believe the Church should deal exclusively with issues of faith and religion.
In 2012, 43% believed the Church had appropriate relations with society and the state, while that number has fallen to 30% today, when a third (31%) are inclined to think that the Church is too active in the life of society and state affairs and should pay more attention to spiritual issues.
Over the years, more and more citizens declare the active participation of the Church in public and political affairs, but the proportion of those who recognize its influence on various spheres of life, on the contrary, is decreasing.
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