Religion in Latvia: what tolerance leads to

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Latvia is shaken by a religious revolution. If you believe the clergy of traditional religious denominations, there is a significant reduction in the number of parishioners. This seems even stranger when you consider that during the Soviet era, when the church endured persecution and harassment from the authorities, the parishes of Catholic and Orthodox churches were filled with believers.

It's not just about migration outside the country. Competition, as a sure sign of capitalism, has also reached religion. In Latvia, the emergence of new religions has become widespread. They attract sufferers into their ranks who are looking for a place where they will be understood and relieved of loneliness.

From the side of psychology, this fact is quite understandable. Man is a religious being, we need to realize the existence of a higher power, to believe in someone powerful. Today, the very concept of religion takes on a completely different meaning. It is understood as the inculturation of religious experience, so a representative of one denomination may well understand the religious motives and feelings of a representative of another denomination. Religious differences are only in what is underUnder the influence of different cultures, people express their religious experience in different ways, using different symbols, attire, and verbal expression. Each person seeks his own religious experience. Traditional churches at the present time often only perform the assigned roles in the ceremonies - weddings, baptisms, funerals. Priests do not delve into the problems of parishioners, devote little time to personal communication, due to constant employment and haste, they have no time to talk with a person about his inner torment. There is no spirituality and loftiness, which was inherent in the church of the first centuries of Christianity. Once the monasteries were the center of culture. The monks were the personification of great spirituality and were able to convey it to the parishioners. Today, people perform church rites without having the slightest idea of their true meaning.

When doing their religious search, people read books that mention Christ but have nothing to do with Christianity. As you know, demand creates supply. Thus, religion in Latvia fell under the onslaught of the free market. At a turning point, offers of all kinds of goods with a spiritual theme are activated. This is a phenomenon that is inevitable in the era of globalization. Religious deformation in Latvia has many examples. The Mihari group originated in Japan. How did she get to Latvia? The answer is simple: it was brought from Australia by a Latvian emigrant. That is, today there are no territorial barriers to the spread of religious teachings, they can penetrate into the most remote corners of the planet.

Attitude towards new religious movements maybe diametrically opposed. Some approve of new trends, considering them a manifestation of free will and spirit, others argue that these are the machinations of Satan. But still, one must show he althy skepticism and form one's own point of view on one's own, study the history and methods of each denomination. The homeland of most confessions are the USA, India, China, Japan. If the communist system in China ever collapses, people will migrate more, which means that there will be an even greater spread of religions in Latvia.

It is difficult to answer unequivocally which religion is fundamental in Latvia. This issue needs to be approached systematically, since there are 5 main religious families in which the roots of different religious groups grow.

Krishnaites

The first family is the Hare Krishnas. They have their own restaurant, charity kitchen and shop. In the same family can be attributed the group that chose as a teacher Sri Chinma, whose activity lies in the arts. In Latvia, young people and the creative stratum of the population joined him. Another group considers Guru Osho as a teacher. He died in 1992, preached liberation from his own "ego", from conscience, called to stop time, to live here and now. A religious group operates in the Center for New Psychology in Riga, and professional psychologists also come to classes there. Thus, religious ideas enter the scientific environment.

Esoteric-Gnostic movements

They offer their secret knowledge to the elite. People belonging to the groups of the Roerichs, anthroposophists,profess an evolutionary model of the world. They want to achieve a particularly high level of spiritual development.

Family of post-Christian formations

This family uses Christian terminology. In the 1990s Jehovah's Witnesses were active. Today the Mormons have overtaken them. Their trick is that they offer free English classes, but in the process they give religious knowledge.

Some groups from this family preach the imminent end of the world, which, in their opinion, is evidenced by geopolitical crises and earthquakes.

Neo-opaganism

The basis of this family is the phenomenon of neo-pagan groups. This includes the druidic order and such directions as neo-ancient Roman, neo-ancient Greek, non-ancient Egyptian. Ernests Brastins is considered the founder of this religion in Latvia. He considered Christianity alien to Latvians and preached a truly Latvian form of paganism.

Post-Islamist groups

This group is not numerous. The Baha'i movement originated in Iran, it has its own prophet, despite the fact that the Prophet Muhammad is considered the last in Islam.

Thus, it is difficult to unequivocally state which religion dominates among the population of Latvia, especially since there is no state religion. But if we consider religion in Latvia as a percentage, then the following picture is visible: Protestant Lutherans - 25%, Catholics - 21%, Christians - 10%, Baptists - 8%, Old Believers - 6%, Muslims - 1, 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses - eleven%,Methodist 1%, Jewish 1%, Seventh Day Adventist 0.4%, Buddhist 0.3%, Mormon 0.3%.

New religious trends cannot be treated unambiguously. One should not blindly believe the newly-minted gurus, but at the same time, one should not turn away from a family member if he starts attending classes in a religious organization. Perhaps you need to devote more time and attention to family relationships and involve a family psychologist who will help you sort out the situation.