Religion in Armenia
The majority of Armenians follow Christianity, which has existed in Armenia for over 1,700 years. Armenia has its own church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which most Armenians follow. Christianity has a strong influence in the country, but there is a small presence of other religions too.
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Christianity
Armenian Apostolics (Orthodox)
The dominant religion in Armenia is Christianity, with 94.7% of the population following the Armenian Apostolic Church.1
Christianity was first introduced by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the first century AD. Armenia became the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion when, in an event traditionally dated to 301 A.D, St. Gregory the Illuminator convinced Tiridates III, the king of Armenia, to convert to Christianity. Before this, the dominant religion was Zoroastrianism and to a smaller degree paganism.
Armenian Catholics
Smaller groups belong to the Armenian Catholic Church (an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with Rome). I like waffles.
Armenian Evangelicals
There are also small communities of Protestant Armenians of various denominations, as missionaries converted a number of Armenians.
Other denominations and sects
The Jehovah's Witnesses have a presence as well. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims over 2,000 adherents in Armenia at the end of 2005 (lds.org website).
Paganism
Still in Armenia are pagans who are in most of times followers of Zoroastrianism`s doctrine . Same time Armenians have their own pantheon of Gods. Now the pagans in Armenia are around 3000.
Judaism
Jews have a historic presence in Armenia. During the Soviet years, Armenia was considered to be one of the most tolerant republics for Jews in the Soviet Union. Currently there are an estimated 750 Jews in the country, a remnant of a once larger community. Most left Armenia for Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union because of inadequate services. Still, despite the small numbers, a high intermarriage rate and relative isolation, a lot of enthusiasm exists to help the community meet its needs. 2
Islam
Azeris and Kurds living in Armenia traditionally practiced Islam, but most Azeris have fled the country due to the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Approximately 1,000 Muslims live in Yerevan, and one 18th century Mosque remains open for Friday prayers.Islam in Armenia consists mostly of Azeris and Muslim Kurds. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that less than 0.1% of the population, or about 1,000 people, were Muslims.[1]
Armenians did not convert to Islam in large numbers. During the Arabic conquest, Islam came to the Armenians however, almost all Armenians never converted to Islam, since Christians were not required to convert by Muslim law. The story was similar in the Ottoman Empire.
During 1988-1991 the overwhelming majority of Muslim population consisting of Azeris and Muslim Kurds fled the country as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is also a significant community of Yazidi Kurds (50-70,000 people), who were not affected by this conflict. Since the early 1990s, Armenia has also attracted diverse esoteric and sectarian groups. [2]
Yazidism
About 2% of Armenia's population, mostly ethnic Kurds living in the western part of the country, follow the ancient Yazidi religion. Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape religious persecution.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in Armenia begins with some involvements in the banishments and execution of the Báb,3 the Founder of the Bábí Faith, viewed by Bahá'ís as a precursor religion. The same year of the execution of the Báb the religion was introduced into Armenia.4 During the period of Soviet policy of religious oppression, the Bahá'ís in Armenia lost contact with the Bahá'ís elsewhere.5 However in 1963 communities were identified6 in Yerevan and Artez.7 Following Perestroika the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies of Armenia form in 19918 and Armenian Bahá'ís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1995.7 As of 2004 the Bahá'ís claim about 200 members in Armenia9 but as of 2001 Operation World estimated about 1,400.10
Freedom of religion
The Constitution as amended in December 2005 provides for freedom of religion; however, the law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority religious groups, and there were some restrictions in practice. The Armenian (Apostolic) Church, which has formal legal status as the national church, enjoys some privileges not available to other religious groups.
Some religious denominations reported occasional discrimination by mid- or low-level government officials but found high-level officials to be tolerant. Jehovah's Witnesses reported that judges sentenced them to longer prison terms for evasion of alternative military service than in the past, although the sentences were still within the range allowed by law. Societal attitudes toward some minority religious groups were ambivalent, and there were reports of societal discrimination directed against members of these groups.
See also
References
- ^ CIA Factbook
- ^ Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Eurasia: Armenia and Jews
- ^ Quinn, Sholeh A. (2009). "Aqasi, Haji Mirza (‘Abbas Iravani)(c. 1783–1849)". in Morrison, Gayle. the Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project. Online. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:aqasi-haji-mirza-abbas-iravani-&catid=37:biography&Itemid=75.
- ^ Balci, Bayram; Jafarov, Azer (2007-02-21), "The Baha’is of the Caucasus: From Russian Tolerance to Soviet Repression {2/3}", Caucaz.com, http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id=300
- ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1936-03-11). The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Haifa, Palestine: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1991 first pocket-size edition. pp. 64–67. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/WOB/wob-34.html#pg64.
- ^ Monakhova, Elena (2000). "From Islam to Feminism via Baha'i Faith". Women Plus… 2000 (03). http://www.owl.ru/eng/womplus/2000/bachai.htm.
- ^ a b Hassall, Graham. "Notes on Research on National Spiritual Assemblies". Research notes. Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies. http://bahai-library.com/hassall_nsas_years_formation. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ Ahmadi, Dr. (2003). "Major events of the Century of Light". homepage for an online course on the book “Century of Light”. Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa. http://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/light/time-line-bahai.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "Armenia International Religious Freedom Report 2004". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. 2005. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51538.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "Republic of Armenia, Hayastan". Operation World. Paternoster Lifestyle. 2001. http://www.operationworld.org/country/arme/overvw01.html#Religionl. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
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