For First Time Since 1998, More than Half of Russians Don’t Attend Orthodox Church Services, Levada Center Poll Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 24 – For the first time since 1998, a majority (55 percent) of Russians say they don’t attend Orthodox Church services; and only 16 percent say they participate in such services several times a month, a Levada Center survey finds, a remarkable decline and one likely attributable to the Moscow Patriarchate’s servile support for Putin’s war in Ukraine.

            Sixty percent of men, 69 percent of people younger than 25, 59 percent with less education, people living in mid-sized cities, 62 percent of workers, and 71 percent of students don’t attend church at all; while 51 percent of women, 51 percent of those over 55, 61 percent of Muscovites, and higher shares of educated and well off do (levada.ru/2026/03/24/poseshhenie-religioznyh-sluzhb-v-fevrale-2026-goda/).

            Wars typically lead to an increase in church attendance as people try to make sense of what is going on; but in the case of the ROC MP, the reverse appears to be happening, largely because it appears the jingoism and the militarism of most but far from all priests and hierarchs is off-putting.

            Thus, yet another victim of Putin’s expanded war in Ukraine may be the Moscow Patriarchate which he clearly views as one of his most important allies. The Levada Center survey did not explore how those no longer attending Orthodox services are finding spiritual solace, but it is likely that at least some are turning to other denominations.