Christianity in Russia - Demographics

Demographics

The ancestors of many of today’s Russians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century. According to the U.S. Department of State, approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians, amounting to 70% of population, although only 5 percent of Russians call themselves observant. However the Church claims a membership of 80 million. According to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox.

There are missionary works carying out among immigrants from ex-Soviet republics, many of them Muslims; and recently, large numbers of Muslims - among them Tatars, Uzbeks, Chechens and Dagestanis - are converting to Christianity.