Russia
POPULATION 144,978,573
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN 33.0–40.0 percent
MUSLIM 8.0–10.0 percent
BUDDHIST 0.7 percent
JEWISH 0.7 percent
PROTESTANT 0.7 percent
ROMAN CATHOLIC 0.2 percent
OTHER LESS THAN 1.0 percent
NONRELIGIOUS 46.7–55.7 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Russian Federation, which includes parts of eastern Europe and northern Asia, is the world's largest country by area. Its population is the sixth largest in the world. Although Russians are the dominant group, the country's population is estimated to include more than 150 nationalities. As a result, a great diversity of religions is found among the peoples of Russia. In 2002, for example, there were more than 20,000 religious organizations belonging to 67 separate faiths registered with government judicial bodies.
Historically each of the indigenous peoples and groups of Russia professed its own religion, which was thus confined to specific regions, although over time the religious diversity within regions has tended to increase. In its Orthodox form Christianity became the religion of the central European part of Russia, beginning in the tenth century C.E. In ethnic terms Russians are the largest Orthodox group. Islam began to penetrate the territory of present-day Russia as early as the seventh century. Muslims in Russia are found mainly in the Volga region, the Caucasus, the Ural Mountains, and Siberia.
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