In her interview to the recerach company “Sreda” Canadian anthropologist religion Sonja Luehrmann said: «I think it is ideal when a religious community is researched by its own adherents as well as outsiders, because they contribute different perspectives and have access to different aspects of community life. ». Did we manage to get it during the research contest “Faith and Religion in Contemporary Russia”?

As we have already written before, many of the research papers were written individually, and some of them were written in a group of 2-3 people. There were 181 participant on the whole. What are the religious beliefs of ou participants?

All the contestants were asked to answer the questionnaire, one of the questions reads as follows: “Do you follow any religion, and if so, what it is?” 30% of participants did not respond, while 70% of them gave an answer (13% of them said they did not adhere to any religion, 3% described themselves as atheists). Slightly more than half of the participants consider themselves believers: 47% identify themselves as Christian (of which 39 % are Orthodox), 4% are Muslims, there were also few peopele who belong to Judaism, buddhism etc.

Student of Vladimir State University: «God is one. And on the whole – Orthodoxy »
Student of Irkutsk State University, Institute of Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science: «Each branch of religion performs its task, but they have one source. And try to stick to it»
Graduate student from the Institute of Management, Business and Law: «As my father is an atheist and my mother is Catholic, my sister and I were not baptized in infancy. We chose the religion consciously. I am Catholic and my sister is Orthodox»
Master student of the Higher School of Economics: «I am nominal Orthodox»
A graduate student from the Tambov State University: «I am an Orthodox Christian, and for many years I have gone to church, my soul feels peace and joy there and I can not imagine myself without faith, as I gain unshakable foundation for life from it»
Graduate student from Dagestan State University: «I belong by birth to the Islamic religion and support the idea of ​​a new President of Dagestan R.G.Abdulatipov – a secular Muslim»
Graduate student from Moscow State University: «My religion is spiritual awareness and spiritual conviction. I do not belong to any religions, churches, sects, esoteric clubs and so on. I move individually and firmly towards development. It is secluded complex way, but only this way makes a person really strong and gives answers to spiritual questions. This man will not be managed by various religious sects or churches. I follow the path that everyone must follow»
Master student from the Higher School of Economics: «Do not belong but believe»
Student of the European University in St. Petersburg: «Orthodoxy, believing without belonging»
Student of St. Tikhon`s Orthodox University: «Orthodox Old Believer (edinoverie)»
Master student of Novosibirsk State University : «I belong to the Old Believers of Belokrinitsky consent»
Graduate student from Kazan Federal University: «I do not hold a particular religion, but Muslim cultural environment that has surrounded me since childhood in some way affected my view of the world»
Postgraduate student of Kazan State University of culture and arts: «I do not hold a particular religion, but sympathize to Buddhist philosophy and Orthodox humanism»
Graduate student from Tver State University : «I do not know how to answer this question. Most likely, my religious views are close to Christianity»

Prepared by Ksenia Medvedeva