After the fall of the Soviet Union, many believed the Russian Orthodox Church experienced a revival, evoking memories of “Holy Mother Russia.” The outward signs of official government policies favoring orthodoxy and the rebuilding of churches were offered as proof of positive change.
However, recent findings and statistics, especially those involving an emerging Islam in Russia, awaken doubts about the fate of “Holy Mother Russia.” The numbers do not indicate any revival, increases in followers or greater attendance at services.
Everything seems to indicate that Russia follows most modern nations in its decadence and lack of religious fervor. There is nothing special about its situation.
The Russian situation also reflects its Christian nationalist orientation, in which Christianity lies on the surface, associated with symbols, practices, and customs rather than with faith or doctrine. Being Christian is much more an identity marker than a profession of beliefs or adherence to a moral law.
Demographic Meltdown
The first indication of a problem is the demographic crisis caused by Russia’s low birthrate. The bad news is that the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) is not releasing the latest data on the state of the population. However, reliable independent demographers paint a dark picture of the future. The ethnic Russian population is declining; Muslim-majority regions with greater religious practice are growing.
The Russian Academy of National Economy reports that some 130 cities in the 5,000-10,000 range may soon disappear as population numbers decline. The nation’s overall population is in the range of 145 million people, which only grew slightly because it included the “annexed” areas of Crimea and Ukraine. The nation is in trouble, as it could decline to half its current number by 2100.
Russia’s birth rate has been consistently declining for over a decade. The present rate of 1.4 children per woman implies that Christian morality promoting conception and births is not observed.
A Growing Muslim Presence
Even more concerning is the state of religion. Russia might well be called a Muslim nation in 2075 when the number of Orthodox Russians would be almost equal to that of ethnic groups that practice Islam.
Religious practice is also low, although exact numbers vary. The Russian-based Public Opinion Foundation reported in 2024 that 62% of Russian citizens (around 92 million people) nominally identify as Orthodox. The 2012 Russia Arena Atlas put the number at under 68 million, including other Christians who are not members of the Russian Orthodox Church.
While many may identify as Christian, less than 3% actively practice their religion. Indeed, Muslims tend to be more observant than ethnic Russians. Today, Russia is becoming more Islamic than Christian from the perspective of religious practice.
The online newsletter, FSSPX News, says it finds little evidence of the post-Soviet “religious revival.” This article from the Society of Saint Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic group with missions in the country, is written by those in a position to observe the trends. Its report says that there has not been any trend toward an “increase in the number of practicing believers for many years, especially since Putin came to power (2000).”
“If anything, occult practices are on the rise,” the site further reports, “but they are certainly no match for the ardent profession of the Islamic faith, where at the last Kurban-Bayram festival more than half a million faithful gathered in the two capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg, compared to 200,000 Orthodox Christians for Easter.”
The Russian Orthodox Church framed the full-scale, unjust invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a “holy war.” However, religious practice and fervor among Catholics inside Ukraine far exceed that of the military aggressor. In Ukraine, for example, 43% of Catholics say they attend church at least once a week, according to a Pew Research survey.
The Nationalist Model
While the data does not support the notion of a post-Soviet or even a Putinist revival of Christianity in Russia, there is no denying the appearances of religious imagery and rhetoric that attract the Russian people. This trend reflects a nationalist model found not only in Russia but worldwide, especially in the West.
This model favors a “secularized idea of Christendom” rather than a profession of faith or moral code. Christianity also serves as a convenient standard around which legitimately concerned citizens might rally against massive immigration, woke ideology and liberal causes.
All these cultural manifestations appeal to the religious sense of many Christians. However, the populist model does not take these sentiments to their final consequences found in conversion, the practice of Christian virtue and the worship of God. They often adopt strange ideologies and even pagan practices. Such superficial impulses do not have the power to transform souls and societies.
Thus, the Russian model is an illusion, not the answer to its problems. Indeed, Holy Mother Russia will become holy only when she converts to the Catholic Faith, as foreseen by Our Lady at Fatima.
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