Religion in Kazakhstan

According to various polls, the majority of Kazakhstan's citizens, primarily ethnic Kazakhs, identify as Sunni Muslims.^[2][3] In 2020, Shia Muslims made up 0.55% of the population.^[4]

According to the estimate by the Pew Research Center, 74% of the population practices the religion of Islam. It also estimated that 17% practices Christianity, 4% are unaffiliated, and 0.9% of the population practices other religions, mainly Buddhism and Folk Religion.^[5]

There are a total of 2,900 mosques,^[6] all of them affiliated with the "Spiritual Association of Muslims of Kazakhstan", headed by a supreme mufti.^[7] The Eid al-Adha is recognized as a national holiday.^[6]

In 2011, other Christian groups in the country included Catholics and Protestants (Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Methodists, Mennonites and Seventh-day Adventists), including restorationist Christian faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.^[8] In 2011 there were a total of 175 registered Orthodox churches, 53 Catholic churches, and 343 Protestant churches and prayer houses; other religious registered groups included Judaism, the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Church of Scientology, Christian Science, and the Unification Church.^[8] The Ahmadiyya community is not registered despite several attempts since 2011.^[9]

Christmas, rendered in the Russian Orthodox manner according to the Julian calendar, is recognized as a national holiday in Kazakhstan.^[6]

The government considers several religions as 'traditional', including Hanafi Sunni Islam, the Russian Orthodox Church, Greek and Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Judaism; some parts of the country can be wary of members of 'nontraditional' minority religious groups.^[9]

In 2022, President Tokayev stated that the country was a "secular and tolerant country" but noted that the authorities will not "turn a blind eye to various radical movements and religious separatism.”^[9]