According to Michigan State University political scientist Ani Sarkissian, "the Azerbaijani government attempts to control religious practice to keep it from becoming an independent social force that might threaten the nondemocratic nature of the regime.
There were no reliable statistics on membership in specific religious groups; however, according to official figures approximately 96% of the population is Muslim.
The remainder of the population consists mostly of Russian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic (Almost all of which live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh), Jews, and nonbelievers.
Small congregations of Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Molokans (Old Believers), Seventh-day Adventists, and followers of the Baháʼí Faith have been present for over 100 years.
[2] In 2019, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported the arrest of 77 individuals labelled as "Shia extremists", of which 48 were considered political prisoners by human rights defenders, they also reported that in court hearings throughout the year, these individuals testified that police and other officials tortured them to coerce false confessions.
Local human rights groups and others stated the government continued to physically abuse, arrest, and imprison religious activists.
Authorities briefly detained, fined, or warned individuals for holding unauthorized religious meetings; as the government’s requirements for legal registration were unachievable for communities with less than 50 members.
[19] Despite being a Shia majority country, the ruling regime of Ilham Aliyev regularly and aggressively enforces secularism.