Religiosity of Russians in comparison with residents of Europe

VTsIOM presented data from a comparative study of religiosity and the level of interpersonal trust of Russians and residents of the European Union. Rossiyskaya Gazeta summarizes the results of the study as follows:

"43 percent of Russians and 35 percent of EU residents say that they often think about the meaning of life and its goals, and about a third (32 percent and 39 - respectively) do it sometimes. The number of Russians and Europeans who rarely or never think about life is approximately the same (23-26 percent) Of all the countries of Europe as a whole, the inhabitants of Bulgaria reflect on this philosophical issue in much the same way as the Russians (44 percent often, 32 percent sometimes, 15 percent rarely, 7 never).

Interestingly, Russian women think more about the meaning of life than men (49 and 37 percent, respectively). The poorer Russians are, the more they tend to philosophize - the share of those who think about this topic often decreases as incomes rise (from 51 percent among low-income categories to 39 percent in high-income categories).

According to the degree of religiosity, the average Russian practically does not differ from the average resident of the European Union. Every second Russian (53 percent, among EU residents - 52) notes that he believes in the existence of God, every fourth (25 percent, among EU residents - 27) - in the existence of higher powers. 16% of Russians (and 18% of EU residents) indicate that they do not believe in either.

There are more believers in God among Russian women than among men (62 and 42). In the EU, the same pattern can be traced: 58 percent of women and 45 percent of men say they believe in God. The proportion of our compatriots who believe in God is declining from 70 percent in the group with less than secondary education to 44 percent in the group with higher and incomplete higher education, while the proportion of those Russians who believe in the existence of higher powers is growing from 14 to 31 percent. In the EU also: the higher the level of education, the smaller the proportion of believers in God. But what is higher in the EU than in Russia is the level of interpersonal trust: 45 percent of Russians and 54 percent of EU residents almost always or often trust other people. Trust sometimes 31 and 34 percent, rarely or almost never - 23 percent of Russians and 11 - residents of the EU. But trust increases with age. Among Russians over 60 years old, almost always 55 percent of Russians trust other people.

Sources

• Yakovleva E. Philosophical accent: Russians think more about the meaning of life than Europeans // Russian newspaper. 2005. October 13.