Religion in Kazakhstan

Religion in Kazakhstan (2021 Census)[1]

  Islam (69.3%)
  Christianity (17.2%)
  Atheism (2.3%)
  Undeclared (11%)
  Other Religions (0.2%)

According to various polls, the majority of Kazakhstan's citizens, primarily ethnic Kazakhs, identify as Sunni Muslims.[2][3]

According to the estimate by the Pew Research Center, 71% of the population practices the religion of Islam. It also estimated that 17% practices Christianity, 10% are unaffiliated, and 0.9% of the population practices other religions, mainly Buddhism and Folk Religion.[4]

There are a total of 3,000 mosques,[5] all of them affiliated with the "Spiritual Association of Muslims of Kazakhstan", headed by a supreme mufti.[6] The Eid al-Adha is recognized as a national holiday.[5]

In 2020, 20% of the population was Orthodox Christian, traditionally including ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.[7] In 2011, other Christian groups in the country included Catholics and Protestants (Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Methodists, Mennonites and Seventh-day Adventists), including restorationist Christian faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.[8] In 2011 there were a total of 175 registered Orthodox churches, 53 Catholic churches, and 343 Protestant churches and prayer houses; other religious registered groups included Judaism, the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Church of Scientology, Christian Science, and the Unification Church.[8] The Ahmadiyya community is not registered despite several attempts since 2011.[9]

Christmas, rendered in the Russian Orthodox manner according to the Julian calendar, is recognized as a national holiday in Kazakhstan.[5]

The government considers several religions as 'traditional', including Hanafi Sunni Islam, the Russian Orthodox Church, Greek and Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Judaism; some parts of the country can be wary of members of 'nontraditional' minority religious groups.[9]

In 2022, President Tokayev stated that the country was a "secular and tolerant country" but noted that the authorities will not "turn a blind eye to various radical movements and religious separatism.”[9]

  1. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20220902140633/https://stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT464825
  2. ^ "Religious Identity Among Muslims". 9 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Итоги переписи населения Республики Казахстан 2009 года". Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-01.. stat.kz. 4 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  5. ^ a b c Religious Situation Review in Kazakhstan Congress of World Religions. Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
  6. ^ Islam in Kazakhstan Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
  7. ^ World Religion Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  8. ^ a b Kazakhstan – International Religious Freedom Report 2010 U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 13 January 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Kazakhstan - International Religious Freedom Report 2022 U.S. Department of State.