The Patriarch asks to include a question about religion in the census forms

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill is in favor of adding the column "religion" to the census sheets during the All-Russian census, RIA Novosti reports. The patriarch noted that he had previously asked to include such a question in the lists, but this column is still missing. “Not a single believer in the temple will be added whether such a column is on the questionnaire or not, since a person’s faith is deep in the heart and does not depend on sociological surveys,” the patriarch added.

Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky believes that this is "absolute discrimination on religious grounds - as if someone is afraid to find out the truth about the religious state of society." He noted that it is necessary to abandon "liberal, anti-religious thinking" in order to include such a column in the lists. The representative of the sociological service replied that such a question is too difficult to classify - a detailed study is needed.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in the census the day before due to a busy schedule. Participation in the All-Russian population census is not a sin, the patriarch noted, the Russian Orthodox Church will help to conduct it. The patriarch cited the example of the Virgin Mary, who, together with Joseph, went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, to participate in the census.

However, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church noted that there are people who do not want to take part in the survey because of "apocalyptic moods"

The All-Russian population census started on Tuesday and will end on October 25.