Religion in Georgia (country)

The wide variety of peoples inhabiting Georgia has meant a correspondingly rich array of active religions in the country. The most recent census in 2014 showed that most of the population in Georgia practiced Orthodox Christianity, primarily in the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose faithful make up 83.4% of the population. Around 2.9% of the population followed the Armenian Apostolic Church (Oriental Orthodoxy), almost all of which are ethnic Armenians. Adherents of Islam made up 10.7% of the population and are mainly found in the Adjara and Kvemo Kartli regions and as a sizeable minority in Tbilisi. Catholics of the Armenian and Latin churches made up around 0.8% of the population and were mainly found in the south of Georgia and a small number in Tbilisi. Protestants also made up less than 1%. There was also a sizeable Jewish community in Tbilisi served by two synagogues. The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Andrew the First Called. In the first half of the 4th century Christianity was adopted as the state religion. This has provided a strong sense of national identity that has helped to preserve a national Georgian identity, despite repeated periods of foreign occupation and attempted assimilation. Georgia has a long history of religious harmony within its borders despite the historical conflicts with the surrounding nations. Different religious minorities have lived in Georgia for thousands of years and religious discrimination is virtually unknown in the country. Jewish communities exist throughout the country, with major concentrations in the two largest cities, Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Azerbaijani groups have practiced Islam in Georgia for centuries, as have Adjarians and some of the Abkhazians concentrated in their respective autonomous republics. The Armenian Apostolic Church, whose doctrine differs in some ways from that of Georgian Orthodoxy, has autocephalous status.