Religion inSlovakia is predominantlyChristianity, adhered to by about 68.8% of the population in 2021.[1]
TheCatholic Church is the major Christian tradition in the country, followed in 2021 by 59.8% of the population, a majority of whom (55.8%) were of theLatin Church and a minority of whom (4%) were of theSlovak Greek Catholic Church.[1] About 9% of the population were mostly followers ofProtestantism, and a minority ofEastern Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations; the major groupings are theEvangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia (5.3%), theReformed Christian Church in Slovakia (1.6%), theOrthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (0.9%), theJehovah's Witnesses (0.3%), and other smaller Christian denominations (0.9%).[1] In 2021, about 23.8% of the population declared themselvesnot religious, an increase from 13.4% in 2011.[1] An additional 1.2% of the population were followers of other religions or beliefs; small religious minorities in Slovakia includeBuddhism,modern Paganism,Islam,Judaism,Jediism,Hinduism
| Religion | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1930 | 1950 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christianity | 2,640,996 | 94.9 | 2,776,658 | 95.2 | 2,847,160 | 95.1 | 3,164,448 | 95.2 | 3,414,440 | 99.2 | 3,833,943 | 72.8 | 4,513,025 | 83.8 | 4,073,833 | 75.5 | 3,747,558 | 68.8 |
| —Catholicism | 2,098,326 | 75.4 | 2,225,410 | 76.3 | 2,317,247 | 77.4 | 2,592,720 | 78.0 | 2,848,693 | 82.8 | 3,366,116 | 63.8 | 3,927,951 | 73.0 | 3,554,148 | 65.9 | 3,256,746 | 59.8 |
| ——Latin Church | 1,900,738 | 68.3 | 2,027,077 | 69.5 | 2,122,646 | 70.9 | 2,379,984 | 71.6 | 2,623,198 | 76.2 | 3,187,383 | 60.4 | 3,708,120 | 68.9 | 3,347,277 | 62.0 | 3,038,511 | 55.8 |
| ——Slovak Greek Catholic Church | 197,588 | 7.1 | 198,333 | 6.8 | 194,601 | 6.5 | 212,736 | 6.4 | 225,495 | 6.6 | 178,733 | 3.4 | 219,831 | 4.1 | 206,871 | 3.8 | 218,235 | 4.0 |
| —Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia | 392,392 | 14.1 | 393,749 | 13.5 | 383,214 | 12.8 | 398,880 | 12.0 | 443,251 | 12.9 | 326,397 | 6.2 | 372,858 | 6.9 | 316,250 | 5.9 | 286,907 | 5.3 |
| —Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia | 150,278 | 5.4 | 157,499 | 5.4 | 143,705 | 4.8 | 146,256 | 4.4 | 111,696 | 3.2 | 82,545 | 1.6 | 109,735 | 2.0 | 98,797 | 1.8 | 85,271 | 1.6 |
| —Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia | – | – | – | – | 2,994 | 0.1 | 9,972 | 0.3 | 7,975 | 0.2 | 34,376 | 0.7 | 50,363 | 0.9 | 49,133 | 0.9 | 50,677 | 0.9 |
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,501 | 0.2 | 20,630 | 0.4 | 17,222 | 0.3 | 16,416 | 0.3 |
| —Other Christians | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16,620 | 0.5 | 2,825 | 0.1 | 14,008 | 0.3 | 31,488 | 0.6 | 38,283 | 0.7 | 51,541 | 0.9 |
| Buddhism | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,530 | 0.05 | 6,722 | 0.1 |
| Paganism | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,007 | 0.1 |
| Islam (Unrecognised) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,934 | 0.04 | 3,862 | 0.07 |
| Judaism | 141,929 | 5.1 | 140,000 | 4.8 | 134,724 | 4.5 | 136,284 | 4.1 | 7,476 | 0.2 | 912 | 0.02 | 2,310 | 0.04 | 1,999 | 0.04 | 2,007 | 0.04 |
| Jediism | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,389 | 0.03 |
| Hinduism | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 255 | 0.01 | 975 | 0.02 |
| Pastafarianism | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 590 | 0.01 |
| Other religion | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,722 | 0.3 | 6,094 | 0.1 | 6,214 | 0.1 | 19,686 | 0.4 | 32,171 | 0.6 |
| No religion | – | – | – | – | 11,975 | 0.4 | 16,620 | 0.5 | 9,679 | 0.3 | 515,551 | 9.8 | 697,308 | 13.0 | 725,362 | 13.4 | 1,296,142 | 23.8 |
| Not stated | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6,648 | 0.2 | – | – | 917,835 | 17.3 | 160,598 | 3.0 | 571,437 | 10.6 | 353,797 | 6.5 |
| Total population | 2,782,925 | 2,916,657 | 2,993,859 | 3,324,000 | 3,442,317 | 5,274,335 | 5,379,455 | 5,397,036 | 5,449,270 | |||||||||
Census statistics 1900 - 2021:[1]
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According to the 2021 census,Christianity was the religion of 68.8% of the population of Slovakia, of whom 59.8% wereCatholics (55.8% adherents of theRoman Catholics and 4% of theSlovak Greek Catholic Church), 5.3% were adherents of theEvangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, 1.6% of theReformed Christian Church in Slovakia, 0.9% of theCzech and Slovak Orthodox Church, 0.3% wereJehovah's Witnesses, and another 0.9% were followers of other Christian denominations.[1] In Slovakia there are also small numbers of adherents of various other Christian denominations, includingAdventism,Apostolic Pentecostalism,Baptists,Brethren,Hussitism,Irvingism (New Apostolicism),Methodism andOld Catholicism.[1]
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Minority religions in Slovakia, according to the 2021 census, included 6,722 adherents ofBuddhism (0.1% of the population), 3,862 adherents ofIslam (0.1%), 2,007 adherents ofJudaism (<0.1%), 1,389 adherents ofJediism (<0.1%), and even smaller minorities of people professingHindusim,Pastafarianism, theBaháʼí Faith and other religions.[1] There are organisations of practitioners ofSlavic Rodnovery in Slovakia, part of the 0.1% of the population (4,007 people) who in the 2021 census identified themselves as Pagans.[1] Rodnover organisations in the country include the Native Circle (Rodný Kruh), whose leader,Miroslav "Žiarislav" Švitsky, initiated in 2001 one of the most influential leaders of Czech Rodnovery, Richard Bigl.[2] Other groups are the Holy Grove of Native Faith (Svätoháj Rodnej Viery),[3] and the Civic Association Tartaria (Občianske združenie Tartaria), which caters to followers of the Rodnover doctrine ofYnglism.[4] Another Pagan religion present in the country isMesopotamian Zuism; some members of the Slovak Zuist community were also involved in the development of the Icelandic church of the movement.[5]
The laws of Slovakia guarantee the freedom of religious belief and criminalise the defamation of and discrimination against religious groups. Religious groups may register with the government in order to receive certain privileges, but the threshold of membership required for new groups to register is high, 50,000 members. In the past, government officials have explicitly stated that preventing Islamic organizations from registering is a reason for this requirement,[6] and Muslims are registered as a civic association.[7] In 2022, the Public Defender of Rights (ombudsperson) stated that the registration requirements were unreasonable, discriminatory, and unnecessary; the Ministry of Culture refused to initiate a legal change.[7] As of 2024 new Slovak government is considering to add Christianity as state religion to the constitution.
According tonon-governmental organisations and unregistered religious groups, negative attitudes toward unregistered religious groups are common, and hate speech online against religious minorities, especially represented by refugees, is frequent.[7] Politicians from far-right parties in theNational Council, the legislative organ of Slovakia, frequently espouseIslamophobic andantisemitic ideas and conspiracy theories, and some of them have faced censure as a consequence of their violation of laws against the propagation of extremist materials and against affiliation with groups dedicated to the suppression of fundamental rights and freedoms.[6] In 2022, some members of the Kotlebovci - Ludova strana Nase Slovensko (Kotleba’s - People’s Party Our Slovakia) (LSNS) and Republika parties were prosecuted for defaming minority religious beliefs and denying the Holocaust.[7]
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[8]
Media related toReligion in Slovakia at Wikimedia Commons
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