Over the last decades the religious and ethnic self-awareness of the Belarusian people has considerably heightened, the denomination factor has gained prominence in the socio-political life of the society. Democratization of social life has largely added to these developments. Religion has started to be regarded as an incentive in reviving spiritual foundations and national traditions of the society.

Most religious organizations promote interconfessional dialogue, seek to preserve the traditions of tolerance in the society. The state policy is aimed at supporting traditional denominations, improving their material conditions. Strengthening interconfessional accord in the Belarusian society is among priority objectives of the Office for Religions and Nationalities which plays the role of a research and coordinating center and a supervisory body.

The Freedom of Consciousness and Religious Organizations Law has passed international expert appraisal and has been recognized as compliant with international standards.

Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy is the most ancient Christian denomination which spread across the territory of Belarus. The first Orthodox eparchy – the Polotsk eparchy was founded in 992. Founded in 1989, the Belarusian exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church comprises eleven Orthodox eparchies (Brest, Minsk, Polotsk, Mogilev, Pinsk, Gomel, Grodno, Novogrudok, Vitebsk, Turov, and Bobruisk eparchies).

Another official name of the Belarusian exarchate is the Belarusian Orthodox Church. It is governed by the Council of Church (Synod) whose head is Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.

As of early 2009 there were 1,473 Orthodox communities and 1,274 Orthodox churches in Belarus, with another 152 under construction. The 1990s witnessed the revival of religious organizations. As of early 2009 there were over 60 Orthodox associations in Belarus, including monasteries, brotherhoods, sisterhoods and centers for charity and education.

Roman-Catholic Church. Catholicism is one of Belarus’ traditional religions. It started spreading widely in the territory of Belarus at the end of the 14th century; it contributed considerably to the formation of the characteristic features of Belarusian cultural traditions.

The rise in the number of Catholic communities observed in Belarus over the past decade has prompted the reorganization of the management structure of the Roman-Catholic Church in Belarus.

By now, four dioceses have been established in Belarus – the Vitebsk, Grodno, Pinsk and Minsk-Mogilev Dioceses. In November 2007 Tadeusz Kondrusievicz was appointed the head of the Minsk-Mogilev Diocese.

At the beginning of 2009 there were 467 registered Roman-Catholic communities and 451 Roman-Catholic churches in Belarus, with another 35 under construction.

Protestant Churches. The forms of Protestantism, Lutheranism and Calvinism have been known in Belarus since the 16th century. Today there are 27 registered Lutheran communities in Belarus, with most of the believers being ethnic Germans.

The religious movement of Evangelical Christians was established in Belarus in 1988 after their union with Evangelical Christians-Baptists had dissolved. The Evangelical Christians denomination has its own organizational structure. In terms of the number of followers, this is Belarus’ biggest Protestant organization in the country.

As of early 2009 there were 500 communities of Evangelical Christians and 269 Baptist communities in Belarus. There are also nine communities of the Apostolic Christian Church, 73 communities of the Belarusian Confederation of Seventh-day Adventists, 54 communities of the Full Gospel Christian Church, and 26 communities of the Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Uniate Church. The Uniate (Union) Church is one of Belarus’ Christian religious movements (Greek-Latin, Greek-Catholic, Orthodox-Catholic and Belarusian faith). In 1596 the Brest Synod officially announced the Union of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

According to the Uniate, the Belarusian Orthodox Church acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope but preserved eastern customs and traditions.

In contrast to many other Belarusian religious organizations the Greek-Catholic Church (Uniate Church) does not enjoy strong support from abroad and is not very popular in Belarus.

As of early 2009 there were 14 Uniate communities in Belarus.

Judaism. Judaism followers appeared in Belarus in the 9–13th centuries. The largest increase in the Jewish population was seen in Belarus between the second half of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. Jews were settling in big and medium-sized towns and in villages depending on their professions and activities. The active revival of Judaism, which started in the 1990s, has been slowed down by emigration and an internal religious split.

As of early 2009 there were 46 Jewish communities and 8 synagogues functioning in Belarus, another one under construction.

Islam. Islam spread in Belarus between the fourteenth and sixteen centuries mainly due to the Grand Dukes of Lithuania who invited Tatars-Muslims from the Crimea and the Golden Horde to protect the frontiers of the State. Beginning from the 14th century, the Tatars were offered ranks and positions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

By the end of the 16th century more than 100,000 Tatars lived in Belarus and Lithuania, including those who were given jobs or resettled and prisoners of war.

Today the local Tatars are the followers of the Sunni branch of Islam. Most of the Belarusian Tatars (especially the younger generation) do not know well the dogmas of their faith. The cultural-religious elite of the Tatars like the idea of the Belarusian national rebirth and take an active part in this process.

The Shiite branch of Islam is professed by the Diaspora of Azerbaijanis and Iranians by birth.

As of early 2009 there were 25 Muslim communities in Belarus, with the biggest number of them (eight) registered in the Grodno oblast. There are six mosques in Belarus; another mosque is being constructed in Minsk.

New Religious Trends. The wave of religious revival in Belarus has spurred the emergence of new religious trends. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness and the Baha’i Faith Organization have registered their communities in Belarus (6 and 5 communities respectively).