University of Chicago researcher Fr. Andrew Greeley has done the public a service by making available to a wider audience findings of a scientific nationwide survey of religious belief in Russia.  Since data were collected in 1991 from 2,964 Russians before the final collapse of communism, estimates on the extent of religious belief probably should be considered conservative.

Fascinating findings include the following:

• Almost half of those surveyed expressed belief in God, and almost half of believers said they previously were atheists.
• Less than one percent gave an affiliation other than Russian Orthodox.
• 75 percent of respondents expressed a "great deal of confidence" in the Orthodox Church and its leaders.  (The laity apparently put little stock in reports of the current Orthodox hierarchy's past entanglements with the KGB and Communist Party watchdogs, or have forgiven their leaders, or are largely unaware of the complicity.)
• 40 percent of Russians believe in miracles.
• Approximately one third believe in heaven and hell.
• 75 percent believe antireligious books should be banned.
• "The change from atheism to theism of about a fifth of all Russians...is especially likely...among younger Russians....Some 30 percent of Russians under 25, 25 percent of those between 25 and 34, and 20 percent of those between 35 and 44, report that they have switched from atheism to theism."
• "The pattern is somewhat different for the conversion to the Orthodox Church.  The change has been greater among those over 45, and in that respect, builds on an already existing base of Orthodox affiliations with the result that identification with Orthodoxy correlates positively with age, from a high of almost half over 60 to a low of a little more than a fifth for those under 25."

Several reservations about the report should be noted.

• It contains a surprisingly large number of typographical and grammatical errors, perhaps reflecting hurried production of what is admittedly titled a "First Draft."
• The frequent contrasts drawn between former East Germany and Russia require further explanation, including the impact of the newly instituted church tax on those former East Germans declaring Lutheran church affiliation.
• The report's frequent, politically correct references to God in the feminine will undermine its reception in Russia where believers will find the usage offensive, and nonbelievers will find it puzzling.

Author Andrew Greeley is a Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, and novelist.

 For the full 35-page analysis, contact the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), University of Chicago, 1155 East 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637; tel:  312-753-7500; fax:  312-753-7886.

NORC advises, "Decisions on mailing copies will be determined on receipt of letters."  The Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VCIOM), Moscow, under the direction of Dr. E. Petrenko, administered the Russian language self-completion questionnaire in 1991.  Findings are based on 2,964 Russian Republic respondents, aged 16 and over.  Two centers hold the raw data:  Zentralarchiv Fuer Empirische Sozialforsuchchung der Universitaet du Koln -- ZA --, Bachemer Str. 40, 50931 Koln, Germany; tel:  49-221-47694-45; fax:  49-221-47694-44; and the University of Michigan Consortium, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research, Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; tel:  313-764-2570; fax:  313-764-8041.  For a helpful summary of the Greeley report, see Michael Hirsley, "Religion in Favor with the Russians," Chicago Tribune, 17 December 1993, 2/10.

 Andrew Greeley, "Some Notes on a Survey of Religion," East-West Church & Ministry Report, 2 (Winter 1994), 4.

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© 1994 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664