site.btaNearly 3.2 Mln Bulgarians Say They Believe in God - Poll

Sofia, April 2 (BTA) - Nearly 3.2 million adult Bulgarians say they believe in God, and 2.8 million describe themselves as true believers, Gallup International found in a nationally representative poll last conducted among 772 respondents between March 9 and 19, as well as on the basis of a regular global survey of the Gallup International Association. The surveys were independent of external financing.

Nearly 4.6 million adult Bulgarians (83 per cent of a total of some 5.5 million in this country) said they were Eastern Orthodox, 500,000 (9 per cent) identified themselves as Muslim, and over 150,000 (3 per cent) said they are atheists. The rest of the respondents represented other denominations or didn't know.

As many as 2.2 million people in Bulgaria trust the Church. Considering that 4.6 million say the are Eastern Orthodox Christians, these 2.2 million show that faith does not necessarily match trust in the institution. The Church in Bulgaria enjoys a high degree of trust compared to other institutions, although mistrust is significant, too (41 per cent trust and 36 per cent mistrust). For years, the level of trust has remained above 40 per cent and has even exceeded 50 per cent, steadily outweighing mistrust.

Just half of adult Bulgarians say they are true believers. A year and a half ago, a poll conducted by the Gallup International Association in partnership with WIN found that 51 per cent of Bulgarians described themselves as believers, 36 per cent as nonbelievers, 3 per cent as atheists, and the rest didn't know. The 51 per cent in question translate as some 3.2 million.

All this ranks Bulgaria below the average levels of believers globally, albeit without extremes, the sociologists comment. They conclude that identifying oneself as Eastern Orthodox does not necessarily imply that one believes in God or is a true believer.