CWN - A survey published by the Russian news agency Interfax has found that the level of religious practice among the nation’s Orthodox population is weak.

68% of Russians surveyed describe themselves as Orthodox-- up from 52% in 1997-- while 6% said they were Muslims, 1% said they were non-Orthodox Christians, and 19% said they were not religious.

Among the Orthodox, only 8% attend church at least once a month, while 46% “never” attend church or go “less than once a year.” Only 4% receive Communion at least several times a year. Only 2% follow all of the church’s fasting laws, while 76% never fast.

In addition, 41% said they almost never pray, while 59% said they have never read the New Testament.

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