Religion in Latvia

Religion in Latvia (2011 estimate)[1]

  Lutheranism (34.3%)
  Catholic Church (25.1%)
  Eastern Orthodoxy and Old Believers (19.4%)
  Other Christians (1.2%)
  Other or None (20.0%)
Martin Luther Cathedral in Daugavpils

The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. As of 2011, it is the largest religion (80%),[1] though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly.[2] Lutheranism is the main Christian denomination among ethnic Latvians due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and Northern Germany (see Hanseatic League), while Catholicism is most prevalent in Eastern Latvia (Latgale), mostly due to Polish influence. The Latvian Orthodox Church is the third largest Christian church in Latvia, with adherents primarily among the Russian-speaking minority.

In a survey from 2015, the ISSP found that 62.6% of the Latvian population declared to belong to a Christian denomination, divided in 19.7% Russian Orthodox, 18.5% Roman Catholic, 17.8% Protestant, 6.1% Old Believers and 0.5% belonged to smaller christian denominations. A further 36.7% declared to have No Religion and 0.7% declared to belong to an other religion.[3] In the same year the Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission found different results, with 76.7% of the Latvians regarding themselves as Christians, divided in 26.2% Catholics 24.0% Eastern Orthodox, 16.6% Protestants, and 9.9% other Christians. The unaffiliated people made up the 22.0% of the respondents and were divided in Atheists with 4.7% and Agnostics with 17.3%.[4]

History

St. Peter's Church, Riga

Latvia was one of the last regions in Europe to be Christianized. The inhabitants of the region that is now Latvia once practiced Finnic paganism and Baltic mythology, but this practice gradually diminished through the course of the centuries. In the 12th to 13th centuries Latvia first fell under the influence of the Catholic Church, as the Christian kings of Denmark, Sweden and the North German Livonian and Teutonic military orders fought for influence in the region in what later became known as the Northern Crusades.

Parts of Eastern Latvia (notably the Koknese and Jersika principalities) shortly came under the influence of the Viking rulers of the Rurik dynasty, who had adopted Orthodox Christianity as early as the 12th century. After succumbing to the Livonian Order in the 13th century, the influence of the Orthodox Church faded away until the 19th century.

Despite the Christianization, the local populace in the countryside maintained their pagan belief system for several centuries, with pockets of paganism surviving in Latvia up until the 17th century. Along with the rest of the traditional holidays, Christmas (Ziemassvētki) and Easter (Lieldienas) in Latvia still largely retain their pagan roots.

During the Protestant Reformation the teachings of Lutheranism from northern Germany and Scandinavia completely changed the religious landscape in the country, and eventually only Latgale remained Catholic due to the influence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Before World War II, 2/3 of Latvia was Protestant; overwhelmingly Lutheran with scarce Calvinist population and individual cases of adhering to other Protestant confessions.[5][6][7]

Because of the state policy of atheism during the Soviet era and the general European trend of secularization, religiosity declined drastically, and today a growing percentage of Latvians claims not to follow any religion, with low church attendance.

Religion in Latvia today

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia has 708,773 members.[1] The Catholic Church in Latvia has 430,000 members.[8] Historically, the west and central parts of the country have been predominantly Protestant, while the east – particularly the Latgale region – has been predominantly Catholic, although Catholics are now common in Riga and other cities due to migration from Latgale.[9] Historically, Lutherans were the majority, but Communist rule weakened Lutheranism much more than Catholicism, with the result that there are now only slightly more Lutherans than Catholics. The Latvian Orthodox Church is semi-autonomous and has 370,000 members.[1] Orthodoxy predominates among the Latvian Russian population.

As of 2011, the population of Jews in Latvia was 416;[1] and there were several hundred Muslims in Latvia.[1] A modern neopagan movement is Dievturība.

The Reformed Church in Latvia is a small Reformed denomination with two congregations in Riga.

As of 2011, the Justice Ministry had registered 1145 congregations.[1] This total included: Lutheran (294), Catholic (250), Orthodox (122), Baptist (94), Old Believer Orthodox (69), Pentecostal (52), Seventh-day Adventist (51), Evangelical (39), New Generation (18), Muslim (17), Jehovah's Witnesses (15), Jewish (13), Methodist (12), New Apostolic (11), Hare Krishna (11), Dievturi (10), Buddhist (4), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) (4), and 18 other congregations. In 2003, the Government also registered the Christian Scientists as a recognized religious congregation.

In 2011, churches in Latvia provided the following estimates of church membership to the Justice Ministry:[1]

Adherents Number
Lutherans708,773
Catholics430,000
Orthodox370,000
Old Believer Orthodox34,517
Baptists6,930
Seventh-day Adventists4,046
Pentecostals3,268
Evangelicals3,171
New Generation3,020
New Apostolics1,268
Latter-day Saints852
Methodists751
Dievturi663
Augsburg Lutheran581
Salvation Army462
Jews416
Muslims319
German Lutheran308
Jehovah's Witnesses290
Old Apostolics287
Buddhists155
Reformed145

Hinduism in Latvia

Hinduism is a minority religion in Latvia. As of 2011, there were 190 Hindus in Latvia.As of 2011, the Justice Ministry had registered 11 Hare Krishna and two other Hindu congregations in Latvia.[10]

Brahma Kumaris have three centres in Latvia: in Riga, Daugavpils, and Rēzekne.[11] Nath traditions also exist in Latvia. Gorakhnath mandir was established in 2011. Masters of Nath tradition go there to hold public satsangs and educational programmes. The Hindu festivals (Shivaratri, Navaratri, etc) are celebrated in the mandir as well.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Tieslietu ministrijā iesniegtie reliģisko organizāciju pārskati par darbību 2011. gadā" (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  2. ↑ Eunice K. Y. Or (23 September 2004). "Trust in Religious Institutions does not convey to Church Attendance". Christian Today. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  3. ↑ "Country specific religious affiliation or denomination: Latvia - weighted". International Social Survey Programme: Work Orientations IV - ISSP 2015. 2015 – via GESIS.
  4. ↑ "DISCRIMINATION IN THE EU IN 2015", Special Eurobarometer, 437, European Union: European Commission, 2015, retrieved 15 October 2017 – via GESIS
  5. ↑ Encyclopedia of Global Religion by Mark Juergensmeyer, Wade Clark Roof; page 111.
  6. ↑ State Responses to Minority Religions by Dr David M Kirkham, p.
  7. ↑ Atlas of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century by Richard Crampton, Benjamin Crampton; p. 90; "Inter-war Latvia: Religious composition"
  8. ↑ Reliģiju Enciklopēdija, Statistika (in Latvian). Accessed 2009-07-23.
  9. ↑ Ščerbinskis, Valters (1999). "Eastern Minorities". The Latvian Institute.
  10. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121126013327/http://www.tm.gov.lv/lv/labumi/TM.docx
  11. ↑ http://www.bkwsu.org//whereweare/center
  12. ↑ http://heyevent.com/venue/olknkjetqzimca

Further reading

  • Stradiņš J (1996). "Martin Luther and the Impact of the Reformation on the History of Latvia. - Dialogue between Christianity and Secularism in Latvia". Annals of European Academy of Sciences and Arts. 15 (VI): 75.
  • Klīve V (1993). "The Latvian Struggle for Survival: A Religious Perspective". Humanities and Social Sciences. Latvia (1): 51–52.
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