Islam is the majority religion in Azerbaijan. Estimates include 97.3% in 2020 by The World Factbook and 99.2% in the 2006 Demographic and Health Survey according to the Pew Research Center of the population identifying as Muslim. A majority of them belong to the Shia branch (55–65% of Muslims), while a significant minority (35%–45%) are Sunni. Traditionally, the differences between these two branches of Islam have not been sharply defined in Azerbaijan, and both communities have historically coexisted peacefully. Shia Muslims in the country typically adhere to the Ja'fari school of Shia Islam, while most Sunni Muslims follow the Hanafi school. Due to many decades of Soviet atheist policy, Muslim religious affiliation in Azerbaijan is largely cultural and ethnic rather than religious. Shia Islam is prevalent in the western, central, and southern regions of the country. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the Lankaran region are considered Shia strongholds. In contrast, Sunni Islam is dominant in the northern regions.

A 2024 Gallup report conducted across multiple countries, including Azerbaijan, stated that in Azerbaijan, 56% of respondents said they were religious, 37% said they were not religious, and 0% said they were atheist.

The rest of the population adheres to other faiths or nothing at all; they are not officially represented. Other religious traditions that are followed by many in the country are the Russian Orthodox Church, and various other Christian denominations.

Like all other post-Soviet states formerly ruled by the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is a secular state; Article 48 of its Constitution ensures the freedom of religion. A 1996 law states that foreigners have freedom of conscience but are denied the right to "carry out religious propaganda" (i.e., to proselytize) under the threat of fines or deportation. According to paragraphs 1-3 of Article 18 of the Constitution, religion acts separately from the government; each religion is equal before the law; and the propaganda of religions, abatement of human personality, and contradictions to the principles of humanism are prohibited.

Islam

The role of Islam in politics and in everyday life in Azerbaijan remains relatively small. Surveys in the late Soviet and early post-Soviet era generally found that although the vast majority of Azerbaijanis identify themselves as Muslims, less than a quarter of those who considered themselves Muslims "had even a basic understanding of the pillars of Islam". For many Azerbaijanis, association with Islam tended towards a more ethnic/nationalistic identity than a purely religious one.Tadeusz Swietochowski Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam. World Policy Journal, Volume XIX, No 3, Fall 2002 A 1998 poll estimated the proportion of ardent believers in Azerbaijan at only 20 percent.Fereydoun Safizadeh, "On Dilemmas of Identity in the Post-Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan," Caucasian Regional Studies, vol.3, no.1 (1998).

In the post-soviet period, although the majority of Azerbaijan's population still nominally identifies with Islam, studies show that the Azerbaijani society has remained relatively secular in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union.Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations August 31, 2010 - data accessed on 22 May 2015 While the estimates identify 93–99% of Azerbaijan's population as adherents of Islam,Mapping the Global Muslim Population | PEW FORUM| October 2009 the importance of religion on everyday life remains low. (in which numbers have been rounded) According to government estimates, Muslim population is approximately 55-65% Shia and 35-45% Sunni, however, officially the differences have not been sharply emphasized. Azeri Shi'a relations with Iran, its neighbor and the dominant Shi'i power, are not close, at least as of the mid-1990s. The head of Azeri Shi'ite clergy, Shiekh Haji Humat Pashazada, adheres to the quietist school of Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i and was a pupil of Iranian cleric Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari.Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, 1994, p.190-91 (both clerics were strong opponents of Khomeinist doctrines and the repressive policies of the Iranian government).Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, 1994, p.173-74

The Azerbaijani government maintains a secular position. Article 7 of the Azerbaijani constitution officially declares Azerbaijan a secular state. Article 18 declares the separation of religion and state, the equality of all religions before the law, and also declares the secular character of the state educational system. In December 2010, Azerbaijan's Education Ministry, announced the ban on the hijab, whereby students are forbidden from wearing hijabs in schools. In April 2021, an additional set of proposals were submitted to the Azerbaijani parliament introducing additional, intensely secular amendments to Azerbaijan's Religion Law and Administrative Code.

Religion minorities Christianity

The Christian religion began to be spread in the territory of present-day Azerbaijan in the first years of the Apostolic era. Christianity is represented by Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism as well as a number of minority communities in Azerbaijan.

Christians, who are estimated to number between 280,000 and 450,000 (3.1%–4.8%) are mostly Russian and Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic (before 1990 across Azerbaijan, between 1990 and 2023 only in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, and after the collapse of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh and the flight of virtually all Armenians, practically none). There is also a small ethnic Azerbaijani Protestant community, numbering around 5,000, mostly from Muslim backgrounds.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Orthodoxy is currently represented in Azerbaijan by the Russian and Georgian Orthodox churches. The Russian Orthodox Churches are grouped in the Eparchy of Baku and the Caspian region.

Azerbaijan also has eleven Molokan communities related to the old rituals of Orthodoxy. These communities do not have any church; their dogmas are fixed in a special book of rituals. They oppose the church hierarchy which has a special power.

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church (Azerbaijani: Müqəddəs Qriqori kilsəsi, Armenian: Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչի Եկեղեցի) was built in 1871. In 1869 Baku military governor Mikhail Petrovich Kolyubakin allotted land for the building of the church. The building was designed by Carl Gippius, brother of famous artist Otto Gustavovich Gippius (Yevstafiyevich) and architect of Baku city and the governorate. Carl Gippius's first work was the St Charles Church in Tallinn and the second was Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Baku. He dedicated most of his life to construction of churches. In 1903, a library and school were built in the courtyard of the church. It survived through the Soviet state atheist policies of the 1920s and 1930s when all but one Armenian church in Baku were destroyed. In 2002 the church was transferred to the Presidential Library, which is located nearby, and now houses its archive.

Albanian-Udi Church

Approximately 6,000 of the 10,000 people of the Udi ethnic community live in Azerbaijan including 4,400 people residing in Nij village, Qabala District.

Catholic Church

There is a tiny Catholic community in Baku and its surroundings, with less than a thousand members.

The Vatican Foreign Minister Giovanni Lajolo visited Baku on May 19, 2006. During the visit that lasted until May 25, he met with President Ilham Aliyev and chairman of the Caucasus Clerical Office, Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh to discuss ties between Azerbaijan and the Vatican.

Giovanni Lajolo made the following statements: "We are satisfied with the level of friendly communications between Azerbaijan and Vatican". "Azerbaijan really is a place of merge of religions and cultures. We highly estimate tolerance existing here. And we are very glad with intensive development of Azerbaijan. Vatican is interested in expansion of relations with Azerbaijan, and the purpose of my visit to Baku consists in carrying out of exchange by opinions on the further development of our ties."

Baku's Catholic church was demolished in the Stalin era, but a new one commenced building in September 2005 and was opened in the summer of 2007.

Judaism

There are three separate communities of Jews (Mountain Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and Georgian Jews) in Azerbaijan, who total almost 16,000 combined. Of them, 11,000 are Mountain Jews, with concentrations of 6,000 in Baku and 4,000 in Quba, 4,300 are Ashkenazi Jews, most of whom live in Baku and Sumgait, and 700 are Georgian Jews. There are three synagogues in Baku and a few in the provinces. Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade has donated US$40,000 for the construction of the Jewish House in Baku in 2000. There is also a Jewish village called Qırmızı Qəsəbə.

Baháʼí Faith

The Baháʼí Faith in Azerbaijan crosses a complex history of regional changes. Before 1850, followers of the predecessor religion Bábism were established in Nakhchivan. By the early 20th century, the Baháʼí community, now centered in Baku, numbered perhaps 2,000 individuals and several Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies. This had facilitated the favorable attention of local, regional and international leaders of thought as well as long standing leading figures in the religion. However under the official doctrine of state atheism during Soviet rule, the Baháʼí community was almost ended, though it was immediately reactivated as perestroika loosened controls on religions. The Bahá'í community of Azerbaijan re-elected its own National Spiritual Assembly in 1992. By 2007, the modern Bahá'í population of Azerbaijan, centered in Baku, had regained its peak from prior to the Soviet period, with about 2,000 adherents, of which more than 80% were converts. However, the Bahá'í community in Nakhchivan, where the Azerbaijani faithful were first established, was being seriously harassed and oppressed as recently as 2006, though this may also be related to paragraphs 1–3 of Article 18 of the Azerbaijani Constitution, confirming that each religion is equal before the law, but the propaganda of religions, abating human personality and contradicting to the principles of humanism is prohibited.

Zoroastrianism

The history of Zoroastrianism in Azerbaijan goes back to the first millennium BC. Together with the other territories of the Persian Empire, Azerbaijan remained a predominantly Zoroastrian state until the Arab invasion in the 7th century. The name Azerbaijan means the "Land of The Eternal Fire" in Middle Persian, a name that is said to have a direct link with Zoroastrianism.The Korea Times Azerbaijan Cultural Week Hits South Korea Today the religion, culture, and traditions of Zoroastrianism remain highly respected in Azerbaijan, and Novruz continues to be the main holiday in the country. Zoroastrianism has left a deep mark in the history of Azerbaijan. Traces of the religion are still visible in Ramana, Khinalug, and Yanar Dagh.

Zoroastrianism in Azerbaijan has been tied not to survival of the ancient religion in the area, but a more recent arrival of the Parsi Zoroastrians coming from the British India at the time of the discovery of oil in Baku and the need for expert labor in the 1880s. The Fire Temple of Baku was constructed for their use at the site of an ancient fire temple utilizing the naturally burning gas and oil on the ground. The fire temple is constructed in the chartaqi layout used by Zoroastrians for thousands of years.

Hinduism

Hinduism in Azerbaijan has been tied to cultural diffusion on the Silk Road. In the Middle Ages, Hindu traders visited present-day Azerbaijan for the Silk Road trade. The area was traversed by Hindu traders coming mostly from Multan and Sindh (Pakistan). The Hindus also have the Fire Temple of Baku. Today there are over 400–500 Hindus in Azerbaijan.

Older religions