Posted on 09/20/2026 6:25:22 PM PDT by LouAvul
I listened to a missionary to the Ukraine in church today. He showed some pictures of Christians living in Crimea, now under Russian control, who had to worship in secret because Putin has outlawed Christianity.
I also heard from a different preacher that Christians are no longer allowed to worship and assemble freely in Russia.
Is that true? I was there in 1995 and Protestants and Catholics could worship freely.
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"Religious freedom for Protestants and Catholics in Russia is legally protected but practically constrained by restrictive laws and bureaucratic hurdles.
Practical Reality:
Many Catholic and Protestant communities operate under constant threat of closure or fines.
Foreign clergy face visa restrictions and expulsion.
Some groups have been designated as "extremist" and banned entirely.
Local authorities often apply regulations selectively, with Orthodox groups facing fewer obstacles.
The situation varies significantly by region, with some areas more tolerant than others. International human rights organizations consistently report that while nominal freedom exists, the regulatory environment creates substantial barriers to free religious practice for non-traditional faiths."
A lot of Christians seem to have left FR and we don’t get the discussions that we used to, but the Russian oppression of Christians used to be a common topic.
Protestants and Catholics are oppressed in an effort to suppress actual practicing of Christianity and church going.
Are the majority of people in Italy catholic?
It would have been just as easy for you to ask Grok as it was to ask me.
It looks like the thread is going to be spammed by something called Grok.
I’ve heard that Orthodoxy is thriving in Russia after decades of persecution, but that Protestants and Catholics have some restrictions.
Lived there, been there, done that. First hand, Christianity is NOT “ outlawed” in Russia. They practice Orthodox Christianity, and the government has rebuilt the many, most beautiful worship churches I have ever seen.
That said, Ukraine has outlawed the Russian Orthodox Church, burnt down a few Russian Orthodox churches- genuine persecution, and put in place it’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Saying anything else is a lie.
No one said anything about Christianity being “outlawed” in Russia, but it is suppressed, harassed, limited, the government connected church that very few attend is the one that the government spends so lavishly on in return for its cooperation, similar to China and their oppression of Christians while promoting a government connected version of Catholicism.
Let’s be fair: Putin did not outlaw Christianity. Putin, in fact, has a strong alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church.
In Crimea, and other areas of Ukraine now under Russian control, however, Putin has suppressed Catholic parishes, Protestant organizations and those Orthodox Churches not aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church is very open and active in Russia, so obviously Christianity has not been outlawed. However, I do know that in the past, Protestant and Catholic Christians have faced some restrictions, and some persecutions, with the blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church. From what I gather, one reason for Protestants and Catholics facing restrictions is that they are regarded as foreign influences. For example, in the past, Baptists were persecuted because much of the Baptist missionary work in Russia was financed by John D. Rockefeller. I can’t say what the situation is now but, if there are restrictions, past experience can probably tell us why.
I write this as an Orthodox Christian who is often very unhappy with my brethren in Moscow.
They are persecuted because it would be living and passionate Christianity instead of a birth and marriage ceremonial culture church controlled by a repressive government, similar to how China handles Christianity, persecute and suppress the committed Christians while giving the the people a government approved and connected version to handle the visuals and ceremonies to absorb the Christian impulses.
I will grant that there is plenty of nominal Christianity among the Orthodox— just as there is among all other Christian traditions— but there is also plenty of living and passionate Christianity as well. I know it from having had the opportunity to know many old-country Orthodox from all over the old Soviet bloc, especially a lot of the younger people. I know people who grew up in essentially a catacomb church in Albania. They are some of the most serious and devoted Christians I have ever met.
I would never idealize the religious situation in Russia. Some of what you said is true, but it is also much more complex than that.
Interesting. I spent a month there many years ago, stayed with friends who were born and rai0sed there and traveled around the country.
My friendItalian friend was brilliant. She decided to go to China to learn it from the pros and learned Chinese very quickly. decided to be Buddhists, even went to China to learn Chinese.
AND the urged me to spend a day in Vatican City, so much history and art there.
Their church attendance is very, very low.
“In 2024, at the height of patriotic mobilisation around the “special military operation”, Christmas services were attended by about 1.4 million Russians, or roughly one percent of the population. Attendance at Easter services is higher, which is linked to a change in the counting methodology insisted on by Patriarch Kirill. Easter figures now include not only worshippers attending the service, but also those who come to have Easter cakes and eggs blessed. In 2023, their number was about 2.8 million.”
Yes, that’s a bad situation. I don’t know if that is the fault of the Orthodox Church ( people not wanting what it offers), or the result of decades of militant secularization (people not seeing the need for any form of spiritual belief.) The ones who show up at Christmas and Easter are doing it for cultural reasons, which is a tragedy. Orthodoxy properly approached and understood and lived is a life in Christ.
He was asking whether Protestants and Catholics could worship freely.
Orthodoxy lives in Ukraine and other countries, and they also allow Catholics and Protestants to practice openly.
Russia is trying to dampen authentic Christianity, as China does, by making it part of the government, playing up the visuals, but stifling the authentic worship of Jesus and God among the people.
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