Armenia

The formation of the Armenian nation in southeastern Europe started in the second millennium BCE and was completed by the end of the ninth century BCE, on creation of Urartu, the first united Armenian kingdom. Armenians were the first nation to declare Christianity a state religion in 301 CE by abandoning paganism. The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), one of the six ancient autocephalous Eastern churches, has emerged as the main religious organization in the country.

Christianity has traditionally played an important role in shaping the Armenian identity: Despite the secularization of the society during the Soviet Union, adherence to AAC continued to be one of the symbols of belonging to the Armenian nation.

Throughout history when Armenia was divided between different regional powers (e.g., the Ottoman, Persian, and Russian empires), the AAC adopted a political role and ensured the preservation of [Page 58]Armenian culture and language among the Armenians living under the rule of different empires. It has often been suggested that the Armenian Church played more of a secular role than a religious one by guiding Armenians through liberation movements and political negotiations.

According to official sources, 77% of the population (98% ethnic Armenian) are followers of the AAC; however, there are no reliable data on the religious affiliation of citizens, and nonofficial estimates of different religious congregations vary significantly from the official data. Nine percent of the population belong to minority religious groups, which include Roman Catholics, Armenian Uniate (Mekhitarist) Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Armenian Evangelical Christians, Molokans, Pente-costals, Seventh-Day Adventists, Baptists, various groups of charismatic Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Yezidis (non-Muslim Kurds who practice Yezidism), Jews, Sunnī Muslim Kurds, Shi'a Muslims, and Baha'is. About 14% of the population are atheists or nonreligious agnostics, although this is not reflected in the official statistics.

Based on the data provided by the Department for Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs of the Government of Armenia, the palette of the religious organizations registered in Armenia are as follows:

• Four traditional Christian churches: AAC, Roman Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox, and Eastern Nestorian
• Four Protestant churches: Evangelical, Baptist, Adventist, and Pentecostal
• Six organizations of the new religious movements
• One ecumenical church
• One Jewish religious community
• One Pagan religious community
• Two Zoroastrian communities

The Armenian constitution, adopted in 1995 and amended in 2005, provides for freedom of religion and the rights to practice, choose, or change religious belief. Nevertheless, Article 8.1 of the Constitution recognizes “the exclusive mission of the Armenian Church as a national church in the spiritual life, development of the national culture, and preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia.” Thus, although the Constitution and the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations establish the separation of church and state, they grant the Armenian Church official status as the national church. The April 2007 Law on the Relations of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Church regulates the special relations between the state and the Armenian Church and grants certain privileges to the Armenian Church that are not available to other religious groups.

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