Religion in Georgien

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History and confessions

In Georgia, which has had Christianity as its state religion since 337, the autocephalous Georgian Orthodox Apostolic Church is of great importance. Around 84 per cent of the population belong to it, and its Patriarch Ilia II plays an important social role. The concordat, which secures the Georgian Orthodox Church a special position, grants it tax exemption and a special legal status as the only religious community.

In the Ajarian region, there is a Sunni Muslim minority of about 376,000 Georgians who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule. Muslims make up about 9.9 per cent of the population in Georgia as a whole, including a large Shiite minority, the Azeris.

Other religious groups such as Armenians (mainly in the Armenian Apostolic Church), Catholics (including the Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic and Chaldean Catholic Churches), Protestants (such as Lutherans, Baptists and Pentecostals), Yazidis, Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses make up about 3.9 per cent of the population.

Religion in Georgia has experienced some misunderstandings since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, churches and religious buildings of other denominations were expropriated and transferred to the Georgian Orthodox Apostolic Church. There have been repeated religiously motivated attacks on minorities such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Baptists, which have caused international concern. After the intervention of law enforcement authorities, the number of attacks decreased and Georgia was removed from the list of countries where religious freedom is at risk.

In 2011, the legal status of non-Orthodox religious communities with historical links or status in a Council of Europe member country, such as Catholics, Baptists, Jews, Muslims and the Armenian Apostolic community, was legally protected. The Council of Europe has explicitly welcomed these steps to protect religious minorities in Georgia.

The main religious holidays in Georgia are Easter, Assumption and Christmas.

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