Abstract
The Republic of Estonia is a country on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. It borders Russia and Latvia on land and Latvia, Sweden, Finland and Russia on sea. As of 31 Dec 2011, Estonia had a permanent population of 1,294,455 (data from the Population and Housing Census). Estonia is a member of the European Union (2004) and of the Eurozone (2011).
Estonia has often been exemplified as a secularized nation having little regard for religion. Even so, religion is an important topic of conversation in Estonian society. For instance, Ave Tampere asked, in an article in one of Estonia’s major dailies Eesti Päevaleht, “Is Estonia the least religious nation in the world?” The striking bulk of comments accompanying the article attested that the issue was a burning one. The task of the present article is to provide a research-based overview of the religiosity of the Estonians. To accomplish the task, let us consider the recent history of Estonian church life, today’s church affiliation, the beliefs of the Estonians and, finally, the unchurched religiosity.
Recommended Citation
Soom, Kaido and Lehtsaar, Tõnu
(2021)
"Forms and Roots of Contemporary Religiosity in Estonia,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 41
:
Iss.
2
, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol41/iss2/2