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Real Numbers

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According to Institute of Sociology in Russia Academy of Science (biggest russian scientific organization) there are 79% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [1]

According to Levada-Center (biggest russian sociological organization) there are 74% of Orthodox Christians in Russia[2]

According to Pew Research (on of the biggest international sociological organization) there are 71% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [3][4]

According to VCIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center) there are 68% of Orthodox Christians in Russia[5]

According to Russian Church's officials there are 75% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [6]

According to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) there are from 70% to 80% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [7]

According to EUREL (sociological organization in University of Strasbourg) there are 80% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [8]

According to Acton Institute (american sociological institute) there are 70% of Orthodox Christians in Russia [9]

...

Then why this article contains such an outdated data as 47.4% ?


*

About Arena survey discussed above, and where from current data was taken: this survey was conducted between big urban areas, so I don't think it could be counted as reliable. All surveys that was held in rural parts of Russia are show numbers close to overwhelming majority. We can take such numbers as 75% - that would be pretty much the real median picture, if we're talking about not russian big cities, but about country overall.

So we surely can't count Arena survey as reliable and use its data as main source of infromation for the article.

Mumbling macaw (talk) 06:11, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It's a fair point - can we list both and cite sources? e.g. "one survey focused on urban areas said 47%, otherse with a larger survey showed 80%?"
Definitely could use some work on that statement... SpookyTwenty (talk) 17:54, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that the 79% figure counts anyone who was baptized. It's been discussed before. Russia may want to present itself as "the last Christian country" but most Russians are not religious. You'll also note that the Arena survey numbers match more or less that figure if you include "Spiritual but not attached to any particular religious denomination" (that is, self-identification).--Ermenrich (talk) 18:16, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Oh I see the old discussion now, seems like an old issue around here haha SpookyTwenty (talk) 20:20, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's not an issue, it's a misrepresentation about religiosity in Russia. Few years ago, when a lot of editors was interested in Russia topic - numbers was changed to correct (79%), but as long as interest went away - a few members changed it to wrong numbers. You can see in history of the page that for about 2-3 years (2016-2019) the number of orthodox christian people in Russia shown on page was stated as 79%. Mumbling macaw (talk) 09:50, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Compare also the Levada Center (from 2022): [10]. 71% of Russians say they are Russian orthodox, but only 43% go to religious services, and only 53% consider themselves "religious", 51% believe in "the kingdom of heaven", the same number in miracles and the evil eye. Keep in mind these numbers are of all Russians, not just of the Orthodox. Depending on how you define belonging to a religion (belief, attendance, official church membership), you're likely to get very different numbers, and the Arena survey's numbers don't look that out of place.--Ermenrich (talk) 18:27, 15 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Then why we got 80% of christians in Ukraine, while it's nearly same countries in terms of religiosity? Seems like a bias for me Mumbling macaw (talk) 09:50, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
First, WP:PROVEIT, on "nearly same countries in terms of religiosity". Second, if there's an issue on Ukraine's page you should bring it up on Talk:Religion in Ukraine SpookyTwenty (talk) 14:49, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's well known fact about Russia. Urban dwellers are not that religious mostly, while in province nearly 90% of people are religious. You can see same picture in most of the northern countries.
And also I don't see any info on the site of "Arena" proving that they made a research in russian province, while old sociological organization, that well-known for a broad spectrum of respondents, are state same numbers - about 70-80% Mumbling macaw (talk) 09:50, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Source for your assertions on rural vs. city? As it is, I only see unsourced claims. And it does not behoove editors to suggest that Russia not being portrayed as religious as they want it to be comes from some sort of "bias" - because the wicked, secular (Satanist?) West doesn't want to admit to the Christian excellence of Holy Rus'? It doesn't make any sense. If you have a problem with how religion in Ukraine is portrayed, take it up at that article.--Ermenrich (talk) 14:38, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Known facts for everybody, if you want sources, I can bring it, but it's like proving that the sky is blue.
Same question: where's the proofs that Arena is most reliable source? All sources state numbers about 70-80% and the only one that contains 47% was placed in the article. Seems like bias for me and attempt to represent Russia in most bad light possible Mumbling macaw (talk) 15:28, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Why would Russia being less Orthodox "present Russia in most bad [sic] light possible"? Don't Western people (or whoever is behind this conspiracy) supposedly hate religion? That would mean that Russia being less religious would be portraying it in the best light possible.
As to Arena Atlas, there have been numerous discussions before, please see the archives and above.
And no, it is not "the sky is blue". You need to bring sources for your assertions or you can't expect anyone to act on them.--Ermenrich (talk) 17:12, 17 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  • Mumbling macaw is a sockpuppet of Отрок 12: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Отрок 12/Archive. About the Sreda Arena Atlas, it is the most reliable survey of religion in Russia ever conducted, it was a complement to the 2010 census, and it was holden by the independent research organisation Sreda with the support of the Russian Ministry of Justice; it is therefore a set of official statistics related to government institutions. Those listed by Отрок 12 are small-sample surveys from private organisations, qualitatively not matching with the Sreda Arena Atlas.--Æo (talk) 15:09, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Some more information that shows that the Sreda Arena Atlas is probably not far off the mark depending on how you count: [11]: In Russia, for example, just 6% of Orthodox Christian adults say they attend church at least weekly, 15% say religion is “very important” in their lives, and 18% say they pray daily. Other former Soviet republics display similarly low levels of religious observance. Together, these countries are home to a majority of the world’s Orthodox Christians. That's from 2017, Pew.--Ermenrich (talk) 15:03, 1 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion

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The following Wikimedia Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 14:08, 14 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Pie Chart?

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Why is Judaism not included in the pie chart? 2605:B100:1100:21D3:7CFB:69A2:3837:73C5 (talk) 20:10, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

More than this, why list Atheism if it isn't included in the chart? The percentages below the chart add up to 113%. Which of these is incorrect? Which categories do the atheists come from, if this is meant to be a supplementary category describing non-practicing members of the other categories?
The pie chart flatly contradicts the numbers in the Demographics section. DukeDunac (talk) 18:40, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Someone has very poorly replaced the old pie chart, without changing the attribution and without adding the numbers correctly. I've reverted to the correct numbers for the source used, the Arena Atlas. This page is the site of constant attention from various people who are really determined that Russia is a almost entirely Orthodox Christian and feel that the source we use is part of some sort of conspiracy to denigrate Russia. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to notice when they make edits like this, as it happens quite frequently.--Ermenrich (talk) 20:14, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Now all that said, I wonder if some sort of official source like the Sredna Arena Atlas has come out again since the last Russian census. 2012 is no longer the most up-to-date sourcing, but we've avoided going with Pew etc. for various reasons you can read above.--Ermenrich (talk) 20:16, 17 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Well someone has come up with
  • "Русская православная церковь" (in Russian). Фонд Общественное Мнение, ФОМ (Public Opinion Foundation). 2 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  • "Русская православная церковь" (in Russian). Фонд Общественное Мнение, ФОМ (Public Opinion Foundation). 2 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
which I suspect are the same thing. However it is difficult to figure out reliability since I don't know Russian. Erp (talk) 15:43, 20 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Ermenrich and Erp: I oppose the replacement. Despite being over a decade old, the Arena Atlas remains the most in-depth survey (with a sample of ≈60,000 people) and most detailed dataset available, and it is linked to the 2010 census. The new FOM data are based on a survey of 1500 people (you can read it in the linked reports), which is very small.--Æo (talk) 15:35, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is there an alternative more recent source you'd like to suggest? I agree that sample size could be problematic.--Ermenrich (talk) 18:16, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately there is nothing new apart from those small-sampled polls, like those by FOM, whose results are unstable and vary with each release. The Arena Atlas survey was expected to be repeated around 2021/2022 (in a statement at the time of the first release, Sreda spokespeople said that the project would be on a ten-year basis), but the war probably halted any such initiatives. I tried to contact Sreda about the new round of surveys some time ago, but received no response. Æo (talk) 21:24, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect that the Russian government now would try to exaggerate the number of orthodox believers, just as various blocked users and IPs have traditionally done on this page. So a new accurate survey would not be welcome. Very well, let’s revert back.—-Ermenrich (talk) 22:13, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Ermenrich: Apologies for the belated reply. Yes, I agree. Please go ahead with the reversion. Æo (talk) 14:30, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 26 March 2025

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Please put the source for Christianity at 71%,the 64% looks lower than reality. Aggron123 (talk) 12:10, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done. A value of 64% appears several times in the article, it's unclear which one you think should be changed, or why. --Belbury (talk) 12:16, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Pie Chart - May 2025

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So which source to use for the pie chart at the top (or should we have a pie chart at all). Note the earlier discussion on the pie chart sources. The current candidates appear to be

Candidate FOM survey: Supported by @Juihui

Candidate VTsIOM poll: Supported by @RedBull1984

Methodology has been questioned. I think people should list the pros and cons of each source or suggest other sources. Better here then in the edit history comments. Erp (talk) 23:58, 9 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The FOM survey provides a downloadable Excel file showing that the sample has been properly weighted by key demographic factors, such as age, education, type of location (e.g. 9% of respondents being from Moscow, 25% from rural areas etc.) and federal district. This ensures that the survey reflects the diversity of the Russian population. While the sample size of 1,500 respondents is comparable to that of VTsIOM, it is still enough to be statistically representative when weighted correctly. This transparency is the main difference to other recent surveys and my argument in favor of using this data for the pie chart.
In contrast, the demographic/geographic breakdown of the VTsIOM poll is not clearly documented, making it harder to assess the representativeness of its sample.
Another point raised by @RedBull1984 is that VTsIOM is supposedly viewed as the most "authoritative" pollster in Russia due to its ties to the government. However, institutional authority does not inherently mean better methodological accuracy. It’s worth noting that FOM was originally part of VTsIOM before becoming an independent non-profit organization.
Lastly, regarding the second link: the table in question already cites a 2013 FOM survey as a source (middle row). If we’re comfortable citing a decade-old FOM survey, there’s no reason not to use a more recent 2024 FOM survey, especially when it's methodologically transparent.

Juihui (talk) 06:49, 10 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Good afternoon, colleagues. I apologize for my temporary absence. Member JuiHui emphasizes that there is no evidence that VTsIOM conducted a survey in all federal districts of Russia. Okay, please, I will provide data from the Levada Center, which states that the survey was conducted in all federal districts of Russia and that at least 1,616 people took the survey, which is 116 people more. The percentage of error does not exceed the percentage of FOM. https://www.levada.ru/en/2022/05/18/religiosity/ RedBull1984 (talk) 04:46, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I rely on such authoritative sources of information as VTsIOM, where the percentage of error is lower and there are more people surveyed. It does not matter that there are only 100 more people surveyed. 100 people is a small difference if there were 10,000 surveyed. 1500 and 1600 is a big difference. The key factor of VTsIOM over FOM is that the percentage of error is lower for VTsIOM. I also rely on the Levada Center source. Levada Center also has more respondents and the percentage of error does not exceed the percentage of FOM. The main reason for my opponent's disagreement was that VTsIOM does not have evidence of a survey in all federal districts of Russia. Therefore, I provide the source Levada Center, where there are more respondents and there is evidence that the survey was conducted in all federal districts of Russia. I would also like to draw the attention of other participants to the fact that VTsIOM and Levada-Center are more popular sources of information than FOM. This can even be seen from the number of visits to the sites.
https://www.levada.ru/en/2022/05/18/religiosity/
https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/religija-i-obshchestvo-monitoring RedBull1984 (talk) 05:04, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
FOM - 1500 respondents, margin of error 3.5%.
VTsIOM - 1600 respondents, margin of error 2.5%.
Levada Center - 1616 respondents, margin of error 3.4%.
Now let the more experienced participants make a decision. 9.5% of Muslims in Russia is too high a figure. RedBull1984 (talk) 05:13, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I'd like to address the percentage of Muslims in Russia one final time, since you also mentioned it on my talk page.
A figure as low as 5% seems inconsistent with Russia’s ethnic composition. For context, the most comprehensive study to date—the 2012 Sreda Arena Atlas—reported 6.5% of the population identifying as Muslim. Notably, that survey excluded Chechnya and Ingushetia, which would likely bring the total closer to 8% if included.
FOM also reported a similar figure back in 2012, estimating the Muslim population at 6-7%.
Given that this data is 13 years old, and considering that the North Caucasus republics are among the fastest-growing regions in the country as well as the growing number immigrants from Central Asia, a modest increase of 1–3% is entirely reasonable. A decrease to 5%, on the other hand, does not align with demographic trends. Juihui (talk) 19:12, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
There’s no clear evidence that the Levada Center survey included respondents from all federal districts—only that it covered 50 regions (less than in the FOM survey—53). Without a detailed breakdown, it’s possible these regions are concentrated in central Russia, potentially excluding areas such as the North Caucasus. There is also no visible breakdown between urban and rural population.
So it’s worth emphasizing that proper demographic and geographic weighting is more important for representativeness than simply having a large sample size (especially when the difference is only 100 people). A smaller, well-weighted sample can yield more accurate results than a larger, unbalanced one.
It seems that your concern with the FOM survey may stem from your personal disagreement with the percentage of Muslims it reports. However, that figure is consistent with Russia’s ethnic demographics according to the 2021 census and is supported by several other estimates. For further context, see: Islam in Russia. Juihui (talk) 13:54, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Especially if the difference is only 116 people? 116 out of 1500 is 7.7%. Levada Center polled 7.7% more people. If that makes it clearer to you. 7.7% is a big difference. And FOM has a higher margin of error. Your only argument against VTsIOM was that there is no evidence that VTsIOM conducted the poll in all regions of Russia. Fine. Here is Levada Center, where there are 7.7% more respondents and the margin of error is lower than FOM and the poll was conducted in all federal districts of Russia. Your example from the article about Islam in Russia is not an argument. Now we will get to this page and find out what sources of information are there. Now we are deciding which source to leave. You were not satisfied with VTsIOM, fine. Here is Levada Center, a more authoritative source of information. Levada Center polled 7.7% more people. The margin of error is lower. The poll was conducted in all federal districts of Russia, including the Caucasus. RedBull1984 (talk) 15:09, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
‘’The survey by the Levada Center was conducted April 21 – 27 2022, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1616 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.’’
In the methodology section, you can read how Levada Center conducted this survey. Just scroll down the source. RedBull1984 (talk) 15:15, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I especially ask you to pay attention to the fact that Levada Center conducted the survey in personal interviews with people. How FOM conducted the survey is unknown. RedBull1984 (talk) 15:17, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The claim that “how FOM conducted the survey is unknown” is simply incorrect. The methodology is clearly stated below the article, and the ФОМнибус survey method is publicly available. It specifies that the survey was conducted face-to-face, the same method used by the Levada Center. There is no ambiguity about how FOM collected its data. Juihui (talk) 16:09, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Please inform yourself on how sampling and representative polling actually work. You could survey 100,000 people in Moscow and it wouldn't be more representative than surveying 1,000 people spread proportionally across all of Russia. Most polls use sample sizes in the range of 1,000–2,000, as this is sufficient when the data is properly weighted. Among the surveys being discussed, only the FOM poll provides transparent information on how its sample was weighted by demographics and geography. This level of detail is not clearly available in the Levada or VTsIOM surveys. There’s no strong argument in favor of prioritizing either one over the survey conducted by FOM, aside from a marginally larger sample size, which doesn’t automatically translate to better representativeness. Juihui (talk) 16:02, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You are talking about a balanced approach in the poll by FOM, but you did not mention that they have the highest percentage of error. We can argue like this endlessly. You are not satisfied with my sources, I am not satisfied with yours. Let's rely on facts. FOM - fewer respondents, higher percentage of error. Levada Center - 7.7% more respondents, the poll was conducted in all federal districts of Russia, just like FOM, lower percentage of error than FOM. RedBull1984 (talk) 16:34, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I believe I’ve clearly explained my position, and it seems you’re now repeating the same arguments while ignoring the core issues raised. I’ll leave it to other editors to weigh in and decide. Juihui (talk) 16:43, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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