User:Sawyer777/Religion in Armenia

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Religion in Armenia

random sources[edit]

  • Schulze, Ilona (2017). "A Typology of Ethnic Minorities in Armenia". Iran & the Caucasus. 21 (4). doi:10.1163/1573384X-20170403. JSTOR 26548907.
  • https://laender-analysen.de/cad/pdf/CaucasusAnalyticalDigest20.pdf

Demographics[edit]

Census statistics
Religion Population (2011)[1] % Population (2022)[2] %
Total population 3,018,854 2,932,731
Armenian Apostolic Church 2,797,187 92.7% 2,793,042 95.2%
Catholicism 13,996 0.5% 17,884 0.6%
Evangelicalism 29,280 1% 15,836 0.5%
Yezidism 23,374 0.8% 14,349 0.5%
Orthodoxy 7,587 0.3% 6,316 0.2%
Jehovah's Witnesses 8,695 0.3% 5,282 0.2%
Paganism 5,416 0.2% 2,132 0.1%
Molokan 2,874 0.1% 2,000 0.1%
Nestorian Church 1,733 0.06% 524 0.02%
Islam 812 0.03% 515 0.02%
Hare Krishna - - 204 <0.01%
Judaism - - 118 <0.01%
Other Protestant 773 0.03% - -
Mormon 241 <0.01% - -
Other 5,299 0.2% 7,675 0.3%
None 34,373 1.1% 17,501 0.6%
Refused to answer 10,941 0.4% 49,353 1.7%
Unspecified 76,273 3.5% - -

History[edit]

Illustration from the Theodore Psalter of Gregory the Illuminator converting Tiridates III of Armenia to Christianity
16th-century illustration of Tiridates III, Gregory the Illuminator, and Agathangelos writing a history of the Armenians

Before the 20th century, rural Armenian priests sometimes took on the role of local folk specialists, practicing magic, divination, and healing. This phenomenon reversed in the Soviet period, with folk specialists taking on religious roles due to the lack of priests.[3]

The 20th century brought intense upheaval for the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC); the Armenian genocide and Soviet anti-clericalism led to destruction of church property, decrease in numbers of clergy, and a collapse of the Church's central role in Armenian society. While the AAC remained a national symbol, and baptism rates in Armenia were the highest in the Soviet Union, the AAC's role in the public sphere became more secularized and nationalistic.[4] During the Soviet period, religious devotion gained negative connotations as a result of Soviet anti-religious policy.[5]

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, spiritual devotion in the AAC was revitalized, particularly in the form of local saints' cults, reported miracles, and other vernacular expressions.[6] After the period of religious revival following Armenian independence and the war, such negative associations resurfaced when newer religious movements emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s. Practitioners of these new religions (termed "believers") were often significantly more devout than average Armenian Apostolic adherents, who were typically more oriented towards the national and cultural aspects of religion; this discrepancy led to a popular perception of these groups, mostly Protestant, as sects.[5] Unlike many other post-Soviet states, a hardline secularist movement never gained prominence in Armenia; religiously-oriented public holidays (such as "days for visiting the dead" or merrelots) were instituted, and religious history education was introduced into schools.[7]

  • Terzian, Shelly (2014). "Central effects of religious education in Armenia from Ancient Times to Post-Soviet Armenia". In Wolhuter, Charles C.; De Wet, Corene (eds.). International Comparative Perspectives on Religion and Education. SUN Press. doi:10.18820/9781920382384. ISBN 9781920382384.

Armenian Apostolic Church[edit]

The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) is typically identified with the Armenian nation itself by its members,[8]

Within the AAC, there is considerable diversity of perspectives among members. Yulia Antonyan, a professor at Yerevan State University, identifies three models of religiosity among Armenians: "grassroots", "privatized", and "fundamental". The "grassroots" form is rural and vernacular, primarily involving local folk tradition, including magical practice. The "privatized" form is mostly urban, where participation in ritual may be superficial or sporadic and the local community is deemphasized in favor of a more individualized view of religion. The "fundamental" form rejects folk and magical practices and is intolerant of other forms of religiosity, and is characterized by religious advocacy for the doctrine and ritual of the AAC.[9]

Vernacular religion[edit]

Armenian folk religion involves veneration of central Christian figures such as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and canonized Armenian saints such as Saint Sargis, often called by local names and honored at shrines, churches, khachkars, sacred springs, caves, and trees. Vernacular religious practice involves pilgrimage, candle-lighting, and animal sacrifice; personal mystical experiences, divination, magic, and traditional healing involving ritual specialists are highly important as well. Folk religion is viewed as an inherent part of devotion to the Armenian Church by those who observe it, and converts to evangelicalism typically stop participating in folk practices as well as Armenian Apostolic traditions.[10]

Popular ritual specialists historically took on religious responsibilities, selling devotional items and maintaining religious sites.

Catholicism[edit]

Main articles: Catholic Church in Armenia and Armenian Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodoxy[edit]

See also: Georgian Orthodox Church in Armenia

Protestantism[edit]

See also: Armenian Evangelical Church

Other Christian groups[edit]

Molokans[edit]

Molokan meetinghouse in Tsaghkadzor

The Molokans, a Russian religious group who reject church hierarchy and some Russian Orthodox practices, have a presence in Armenia dating from the early 19th century. Armenian Molokans have low intermarriage rates, and are generally educated in Russian-language schools; most are fluent in both Russian and Armenian.[11] Molokans maintain a communal identity,[12] and rural Molokan villages continue with a traditional lifestyle.[13]

In 1802, Alexander I ordered that adherents of religious sects should be relocated to southern areas of the Russian Empire; Armenian regions such as Lori, Lake Sevan, Dilijan, and Zangezur were chosen for new Russian settlements. Mass migration of Molokans (as well as Doukhobors, Khlysts, and Skoptsy) to the Caucasus took place in the 1830s, when Nicholas I focused efforts on resettlement, particularly to Armenia.[14] 19th-century Molokan settlements include the villages of Vorontsovka, Nikitino, Voskresenovka, Privolnoye, Elenovka, Semyonovka, Nadezhdino, and Mikhailovka.[15]

The Molokans of Armenia supported the establishment of the Soviet Union, and were active in the Revolutionary movement. Soviet dekulakization policy in the 1920s caused discontentment among the Molokans, and some wanted to emigrate to Russia or Persia; eventually, most chose to stay in Soviet Armenia.[16] Beginning in the 1930s Molokans migrated in large numbers to cities due to collectivization of rural land.[11]

Yazidism[edit]

Quba Mêrê Dîwanê Yezidi temple in Aknalich
Main article: Yazidis in Armenia

Islam[edit]

Aerial view of the Blue Mosque, Yerevan
Blue Mosque, Yerevan
Main article: Islam in Armenia

Armenian neopaganism[edit]

Other religions[edit]

Main article: History of the Jews in Armenia
Main article: Baháʼí Faith in Armenia

Buddhism in Armenia / Zoroastrianism in Armenia

Church-state relations[edit]

Freedom of religion[edit]

Interreligious relations[edit]

The Armenian Apostolic Church has had a competitive relationship with Armenian neopaganism, as both groups lay claim to being a national religion.[17]

Notes[edit]


References[edit]

  1. ^ Republic of Armenia Census (PDF) (Report). Statistical Committee - Republic of Armenia. 2011. p. 7.
  2. ^ Republic of Armenia Census (Report). Statistical Committee - Republic of Armenia. 2022. Table 5.5.
  3. ^ Antonyan 2011, p. 325
  4. ^ Antonyan 2011, p. 318
  5. ^ a b Antonyan 2011, pp. 319–320
  6. ^ Antonyan 2011, pp. 318–319
  7. ^ Antonyan 2011, pp. 321–322
  8. ^ Antonyan 2011, p. 322
  9. ^ Antonyan 2011, pp. 322–324
  10. ^ Antonyan 2011, pp. 320–321
  11. ^ a b Haytian 2007, pp. 34–35
  12. ^ Haytian 2007, p. 36
  13. ^ Haytian 2007, p. 43
  14. ^ Haytian 2007, pp. 36–37
  15. ^ Haytian 2007, p. 37–39
  16. ^ Haytian 2007, pp. 41–43
  17. ^ Antonyan 2011, p. 324

Bibliography[edit]

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