Vol. 4, No. 3, Summer 1996, Covering the Former Soviet Union and East Central Europe
High Public Confidence in the Church
David G. Gibson
Respondents Expressing Some or Great Confidence in Church/State Institutions (in percentages)
|
Church |
Presidency |
Parliament |
Judiciary |
Military |
| Russia |
72 |
27 |
26 |
38 |
66 |
| Ukraine |
69 |
47 |
29 |
32 |
61 |
| Belarus |
67 |
50 |
27 |
38 |
59 |
| Estonia |
64 |
72 |
51 |
47 |
50 |
| Latvia |
68 |
69 |
38 |
48 |
32 |
| Lithuania |
80 |
34 |
27 |
29 |
38 |
| Poland |
70 |
43 |
55 |
61 |
85 |
| Czech Rep. |
30 |
78 |
43 |
44 |
43 |
| Slovakia |
59 |
58 |
49 |
53 |
64 |
| Hungary |
57 |
74 |
57 |
71 |
75 |
| Romania |
88 |
52 |
29 |
51 |
85 |
| Bulgaria |
39 |
48 |
30 |
28 |
67 |
Sources: OMRI AOR surveys March-April 1995; RFE/RL MCR survey in Hungary, April 1994
Nationwide surveys conducted by Open Media Research Institute's
Audience and Opinion Research Department throughout Central and Eastern
Europe in 1994-95 found a pattern of wider public confidence in the
church than in any other institution except the military. The
question read, "How much confidence do you have in [institution]: a
great deal, some, not very much, or none at all." High confidence
in both the church and the military is most noticeable in the three
Slavic nations of the former Soviet Union--Russia, Ukraine, and
Belarus--and in Romania and Poland. Lithuania was alone in
expressing great confidence in the church but relatively little in any
state or military institution. Czechs, however, exhibited less
confidence in the church than in any other institution.
In most of the surveys, more women than men expressed some or great
confidence in the church, and confidence was more widespread in rural
areas than in towns and cities. Older people, the least educated,
and lower-income groups in most countries surveyed had greater
confidence in the church than did the young, the wealthier, and the
best educated.
David G. Gibson is manager of quantitative research in the
Audience and Opinion Research Department, Open Media Research Institute
(OMRI). This material is reprinted from Transition 2 (5
April 1996): 29, with permission of OMRI, a nonprofit organization with
research offices in Prague, Czech Republic. For more information
about OMRI, please write to info@omri.cz.
David G. Gibson, "High Public Confidence in the Church," East-West Church & Ministry Report, 4 (Summer 1996), 9.
Written permission is required for reprinting or electronic distribution of any portion of the East-West Church & Ministry Report.
© 1996 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664
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