More than 85% of Romanians consider themselves religious, and nearly half attend church at least once a month, according to a public opinion poll conducted by INSCOP and cited by Agerpres.
According to the survey, only 14% of respondents said they do not consider themselves religious, while 1% did not know or refused to answer.
Most Romanians attend church only on major religious holidays—25.4%. Meanwhile, 23% say they go to services once a week, 19.4% attend very rarely, 17.1% go at least once a month, 7.6% go several times a week, and 6.8% never attend church. Just 0.7% did not respond.
Among those attending at least once a month, individuals aged 30–44 (24%) and public sector employees (23%) are most represented.
Those who attend only on major holidays are more likely to be men (28%), residents of Bucharest (29%), and public sector employees (33%).
Faith Still Matters in Romania
Darie Cristea, research director at INSCOP Research, noted that Romania differs from many Western countries in the way its population views religion.
“Even behaviorally, this attitude profile is evident: 47% of Romanians say they attend church once a month or more. Even if this were not completely accurate, the mere fact that nearly half of the population views church attendance as a desirable behaviour tells us a lot about the presence of religiosity,” said Cristea.
“Yes, there is a notable difference from many Western European societies, where disinterest in religion and atheism are significantly more visible both individually and publicly.”
About the INSCOP Survey
The “Informat.ro Barometer” by INSCOP Research is a monthly opinion poll commissioned by the news platform Informat.ro in partnership with the Strategic Thinking Group think tank.
This round of the survey was conducted between June 20 and 26, using the CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) methodology. The sample size was 1,150 adults, stratified and representative of Romania’s non-institutionalised population aged 18 and above, by gender, age, and occupation.
The maximum margin of error is ±2.9%, with a 95% confidence level.
Photo: Raluca Ene / Basilica
