RELIGION

Zaza PIRALISHVILI

---

Zaza Piralishvili, D.Sc. (Philos.), professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (Tbilisi, Georgia)

---

According to the 2003 population census, Orthodox Christians in Georgia comprise 83 percent of the total population. I doubt, however, that the census figures accounted for the high level of labor migration, primarily Azeris and Armenians, therefore I compared these figures with expert assessments. My picture is not completely reliable either, but it does give an idea of the actual situation. My efforts revealed that 80.0 percent of the Georgian population considers themselves Orthodox Christians; 11.0 percent describe themselves as Muslims; 5 percent follow the Armenian Apostolic Church; 0.5 percent are Judaists; 2.5 percent belong to other confessions; and 1.0 percent does not profess any religion.

Religious life in Georgia is obviously dominated by an overwhelming number of Orthodox Christians. We should bear in mind that most of them (between 50 and 70 percent according to different sources) consider this religion their historical-cultural, rather than religious identity: they call themselves Orthodox Christians because of the local tradition. This is still an important factor. Recently, the number of people who describe themselves as Orthodox Christians for purely religious reasons has been growing.

In Soviet times, relations between confessions were an important factor which helped religions to survive. The process was a natural one: in 1962, the Georgian Orthodox Church joined the World Council of Churches and the…………..

---

Please fill in the subscription form to obtain the full text.