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Ever since the beginnings of the USSR, religion there has stood on shaky ground. Communist ideology says religion can be either used or abused, depending on which will best meet the state’s ends. With this ambivalence increasing the complexity of church-state relations in the USSR, what really is the situation today?

The relationship that exists today between the Soviet government and the religious groups within its territories, despite some recent appearances of concord surrounding the millennium celebrations, is actually one still characterized by constant uncertainties, frequent hostilities, mutual distrust and much “bad blood.” The observance of the millennium has brought an apparent calm on the surface of the water, but according to several sources, it has really done little to ensure any regularity in the unpredictable currents beneath.

Nonetheless, religion is obviously still an important part of the lives of millions of Soviet citizens. According to recent estimates from the Soviet Council of Religious Affairs (the state organization that monitors all religious activities in the USSR), religious believers make up between 10 and 20 percent of the population. With a population of more than 283 million, this would put the total number of religious believers at between 28 and 56 million.

The predominant religious affiliations of Soviet citizens vary by republic. Orthodoxy is the prevalent religion in Russia, Armenia, Byelorussia, Georgia, Moldavia and Ukraine; believers in the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia are predominantly Lutheran; Lithuania is strongly Catholic; and the Middle Eastern republics of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Tadzhikistan, Turkmen and Uzbekistan are almost completely Muslim. In addition, large numbers of Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jews are scattered throughout the country.

In a recent interview, Konstantin Kharchev, chairman of the Council of Religious Affairs (CRA), released the official statistics on the number of religious communities that is, churches or synagogues—in the Soviet Union. According to the report, most religious faiths have experienced declines since 1971 (see chart).

But while his figures show a decline, they actually raise more questions about the situation than they answer. In some cases, for example with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the numbers include congregations that are not officially registered with the government. However, some unregistered denominations, such as the Ukrainian Catholics’, which is outlawed in the Soviet Union, are not mentioned at all, yet are too numerous to be included in the “Others” category. The government puts the number of Baptist congregations at 2,976. However, the Baptists themselves claim more than 5,000 registered congregations, in addition to approximately 2,000 unregistered congregations.

The Soviet government has the final say as to whether a congregation can be legally registered. Many congregations, including the entire Ukrainian Catholic denomination, have been trying for years to register with the CRA—but they have been denied registration. Because of this arrangement, the CRA can easily control the official tally of churches.

This desire for control typifies the Soviet government’s attitude toward religious groups in the Soviet Union. The church there is forced to choose between registering with the government and allowing a certain amount of interference in its affairs, or refusing to register and risking fines and arrests for breaking the Soviet law against unregistered religious activities.

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