Estonia, historically a Lutheran Christian nation,[2][3][4] is today one of the "least religious" countries in the world in terms of declared attitudes, with only 14 percent of the population declaring religion to be an important part of their daily life.[5] This is thought to largely be a result of the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940,[citation needed] prior to which Estonia had a large Christian majority.
The religious population is predominantly Christian and includes followers of 90 affiliations. According to the Estonian Council of Churches data from December 2019, 13.8 percent of the population belong to the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, while 13.1 percent belong to the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate (EOCMP), and 2.3 percent belong to the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. The Union of Free Evangelical and Baptist Churches of Estonia and the Roman Catholic Church in Estonia together comprise 1 percent of the population. Other Christian groups, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Russian Old Believers, collectively constitute 1.1 percent of the population.[6] According to Ringo Ringvee, "religion has never played an important role on the political or ideological battlefield" and the "tendencies that prevailed in the late 1930s for closer relations between the state and Lutheran church were ended with the Soviet occupation in 1940". He further states that "the chain of religious traditions was broken in most families" under the Soviet policy of state atheism.[3][7] Before the Second World War, Estonia was approximately 80 per cent Protestant; overwhelmingly Lutheran, partly because of historic Swedish rule. Under Russian and Soviet rule, this predominance greatly decreased, while Eastern Orthodoxy increased due to immigration of Russians.
Between 2001 and 2011 census, Eastern Orthodoxy overtook Lutheranism to become the largest Christian denomination in the country due to increasing lack of affiliation and very few conversions among Estonians, as well as due to steady or even increased religious affiliation among the Russian-speaking minorities. Lutheranism still remains the most popular religious group among ethnic Estonians (11 percent of them are Lutherans while also 2 percent of them are Orthodox), while Eastern Orthodoxy is practised mainly by the mostly non-indigenous Slavic minorities (approximately 45 per cent of them are Orthodox). According to the University of Tartu, irreligious Estonians are not necessarily atheists; instead, the 2010s have witnessed a growth of Neopagan, Buddhist and Hindu beliefs among those who declare themselves to be "not religious".[8]
^Cite error: The named reference Census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Ivković, Sanja Kutnjak; Haberfeld, M.R. (10 June 2015). Measuring Police Integrity Across the World: Studies from Established Democracies and Countries in Transition. Springer. p. 131. ISBN 9781493922796. Estonia is considered Protestant when classified by its historically predominant major religion (Norris and Inglehart 2011) and thus some authors (e.g., Davie 2003) claim Estonia belongs to Western (Lutheran) Europe, while others (e.g., Norris and Inglehart 2011) see Estonia as a Protestant ex-Communist society.
^ abCite error: The named reference MarshallCavendish2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Rausing, Sigrid (2004). History, Memory, and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia: The End of a Collective Farm. Oxford University Press. p. 96. ISBN 9780199263189. Protestantism has done much to inform the moral world view of the Estonians, particularly the process of distinguishing themselves from the Russians.
^"Estonians least religious in the world". EU Observer. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
^Office of International Religious Freedom, 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Estonia, United States Department of State
^Ringvee, Ringo (16 September 2011). "Is Estonia really the least religious country in the world?". The Guardian. For this situation there are several reasons, starting from the distant past (the close connection of the churches with the Swedish or German ruling classes) up to the Soviet-period atheist policy when the chain of religious traditions was broken in most families. In Estonia, religion has never played an important role on the political or ideological battlefield. The institutional religious life was dominated by foreigners until the early 20th century. The tendencies that prevailed in the late 1930s for closer relations between the state and Lutheran church [...] ended with the Soviet occupation in 1940.
^Martin Noorkõiv (6 November 2012). "The Estonian Atheist Experiment". University of Tartu Blog.
and 28 Related for: Religion in Estonia information
declaring religion to be an important part of their daily life. This is thought to largely be a result of the Soviet occupation of Estoniain 1940,[citation...
European peoples, religion plays a rather small part in the lives of most Estonians. Overall, the quality-of-life indices for Estonia indicate a modern...
religion. Estonian irreligion dates back to the 19th century, when Estonian nationalists and intellectuals deemed Christianity a foreign religionin opposition...
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland...
Estonian neopaganism, or the Estonian native faith, spans various contemporary revivals of the indigenous religion of the Estonian people, adapted from...
Ukrainian congregation. Estonia-Holy See relations Apostolic Administration of EstoniaReligioninEstonia Eastern Orthodoxy inEstonia Salo, Vello (2002)...
Buddhism inEstonia is a small minority religion, held by about 0.2% of the population. However, between 2000 and 2021, the number of Buddhists inEstonia tripled...
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies...
The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (Estonian: Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik; EOC) is an Orthodox church inEstonia under the direct jurisdiction of...
The largest religionin Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern...
Eastern Orthodoxy inEstonia is practiced by 16.5% of the population, making it the most identified religion and Christian denomination in this majority-secular...
Estonian native religion (Estonian: Maausk, literally "Native Religion" or "Land's Faith"), or Estonian Neopaganism, is the name, in English, for a grouping...
equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion (and the legal implications that this has for both...
Religionin China is diverse and most Chinese people are either non-religious or practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism with a Confucian worldview...
minority religioninEstonia followed by only 708 (0.1%) of its population as of 2010. The religion was registered by the country along with Buddhism in the...
without religion, including agnostics and atheists, from Irreligion by country (as of 2020[update]): Czech Republic (78.4%) North Korea (71.3%) Estonia (60...
000 Estonians of Russia are believers in their historical religion; or German Lutheranism at 400,000, assuming that all Germans in Russia believe in their...
Estonian House for Taaraist and Native Religion Followers) is a religious organisation uniting adherents of the two kinds of Estonian native religion...
Religionin the United States is widespread, diverse, and vibrant, with the country being far more religious than other wealthy Western nations. An overwhelming...
Estonians or Estonian people (Estonian: eestlased) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who speak the Estonian language. Their nation state is Estonia. The...
of Northern Estonia are Tallinn (capital of Estonia), Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Rakvere. Northern Estonia is the most populous area inEstonia, with 60.3%...
different religions are practised in Indonesia. Indonesia is officially a presidential republic and a unitary state without an established state religion. Indonesia...
population in France identifies as Christian. Catholicism is the most prominent denomination in France, but has long lost the state religion status it...
Religionin ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those...
Dacian religion (Dacians of Dacia) Georgian religion (pre-Christian Colchis of the southern Caucasus) Estonianreligion (Estonians of Estonia) Etruscan...
Global Information