In general, 88% of Bulgaria’s population is Christian and they believe in the Orthodox Church. About 10% of Bulgarians believe in Islam. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has 11 parishes in the territory, with 3,720 praying houses, 120 monasteries, and 2 schools. There are approximately 200-250 people will be enrolled in these two schools in a year. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has its own publishing houses and publications, as well as specialized institutions to operate church building, church real estate, and rest homes. The theological writings of college professors and lecturers are often published in the yearbooks published by the seminary. The parish managed by the Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarchate is responsible for regular contact with the Orthodox Church of other countries. In 1961, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church joined the World Council of Churches to increase the degree of internationalization.
In addition to the Orthodox Church, Bulgaria’s religious belief system includes other religions. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Roman Catholic missionaries opened schools, hospitals, orphanages in Bulgaria, which expanded the influence of Catholicism in Bulgaria. At that time, the Roman Catholic Church has 31 churches in Bulgaria, with one bishop and 49 missionaries and 50,000 Catholics. In 1860, the Catholic Church was extremely active, causing Catholics to increase to 80,000. In 1872, about 60,000 Christians returned to the Orthodox Church. Protestantism entered Bulgaria in the mid-19th century. After that, Protestantism has always used the city of Samokov as its activity centre, where schools, churches, and printing houses are opened. Until 1925, these Christian Protestant schools moved to Sofia. There are about 10,000 Bulgarians who believe in Protestantism. Within the territory, there are 101 Protestant churches and 265 pastors. In addition, there are about 3,000 Jews living in Bulgaria, some of whom believe in Judaism. Currently, Judaism has seven churches and several clergies. Muslims are an important religious group that must be mentioned in Bulgarian religious sects. Islam has a relatively strong influence in Bulgaria, and its members include Turks, Bulgarians, and monks. In the 14th century, Turkey ruled Bulgaria and forced locals to convert to Islam. Although the Turks increased the Bulgarians into Muslims in the 17th century, the locals still tried to preserve their language, culture, and way of life. In 1878, as many as 500,000 people believed in Islam. Until the victory of the revolution, local talents began to reduce Islamization, relying on changing their names and changing the way they dress. However, to this day, the influence of Islam in Bulgaria cannot be underestimated.
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