The Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the religion of 95%-98% of the Greek population and is accorded the status of "prevailing religion" in the constitution.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,

• 81% of Greek citizens responded that "they believe there is a God".
• 16% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
• 3% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".

The prevailing nature of the Orthodox Christian church in Greece is attributed largely to the role the church played for the preservation of the Greek nation through the years of the Ottoman Empire but also for the role the church played in the Greek War of Independence (e.g. through the actions of people such as Germanos). As a result, many attribute to the modern Greek nation an ethnoreligious identity, though granted not as strong as it exists say, in the Jewish nation. The nation's identity is further distanced from its Church because of its Ancient history.

Greek Orthodoxy

The Greek Orthodox Church, a member of the Eastern Orthodox Communion, is accorded the status of "prevailing religion" in Greece's constitution. Its members comprise between 95% and 98% of the population. Of those who identify themselves as Greek Orthodox, about 700,000 to 1 million are Greek Old Calendarists.

Catholicism

Roman Catholicism

Indigenous Catholic Greeks number approximately 50,000 and are found all over Greece, the majority however live in the Cyclades and the Ionian Islands. The presence of Catholics in the Greek islands is a heritage from the time of the Venetian domination, during the Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic community has increased in size in recent years due to immigration and today number over 200,000.

Greek Catholicism

Catholic Greeks of the Byzantine Rite (Uniates) number approximately 5,000 and mostly live in Athens.

Protestantism

Protestants, including Greek Evangelical Church and Free Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000. Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and other Pentecostal churches of the Greek Synod of Apostolic Church has 12,000 members. Independent Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest Protestant denomination in Greece with 120 churches. There are not official statistics about Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers in 20,000.

Islam

Indigenous Muslims in Greece are mostly of Turkish origin though a community of Greek Muslims exists as well. The number of followers of Islam is estimated to be at 97,604 people or 0.95% of the total population, according to the 1991 census. Immigrant Muslims are estimated between 200,000 and 300,000.

Judaism

The Jewish community in Greece currently amounts to roughly 5,500 people, concentrated mainly in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Chalkis, Ioannina, Trikala and Corfu, while very few remain in Kavala and Rhodes.

Hellenic Neopaganism

About 2,000 people are members of Hellenic Neopaganism (Dodekatheic) congregations. However, the leaders of the movement put the number much higher: from 100,000 or 200,000 (1%, 2% of the total) to 400,000 (4%) Recently, Neopagans have been subject of discrimination issues .

Other faiths

Other faiths in Greece include Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scientologists, Bahá'í, Hare Krishnas.

See also

• Greek Evangelical Church
• Religion by country

References

1. Synod of Apostolic Church of Christ
2. Chirch adresses from the Official Site - in Greek
3. Orthodox estimate - in greek
4. Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, Υπηρεσία Ενημέρωσης: Μουσουλμάνικη μειονότητα Θράκης and Ελληνική Επιτροπή για τη διαχείρηση των υδατικών πόρων: Στοιχεία από την πρόσφατη απογραφή του πληθυσμού
5. Short History Of The Jewish Communities In Greece (pdf), publicized by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece
6. Newstatesman - The ancient gods of Greece are not extinct
7. Telegraph.co.uk - Modern Athenians fight for the right to worship the ancient Greek gods
8. The US government gives a generic number of 2000. United States Department of State - International Religious Freedom Report 2006
9. Euro News - in Italian

Notes

• US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006: Greece
• Tomkinson, John L., Between Heaven and Earth: The Greek Church, Anagnosis (Athens, 2004) ISBN 960-87186-5-1