The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. , it is the largest religion (68.84%), though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly.
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.
History
Latvia was one of the last regions in Europe to be Christianized. The inhabitants of the region that is now Latvia once practiced Baltic paganism, but this practice gradually diminished through the course of the centuries. In the 12th to 13th centuries Latvia first became part 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. 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 eastern Latvia (Latgale) remained Catholic, due to the influence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Until the 20th century, the Latvian Lutheran Church was part of the church organizations of Sweden or Russia.
The Old Believers—primarily of the bespopovtsy (priestless) tradition—fled religious persecution in the Tsardom of Russia to settle in Latvian lands. In Riga, they erected the large Grebenstchikov House of Prayer in 1760 and rebuilt in 1886. During Latvia's independent interwar period (1918–1940), the community flourished politically, culturally, and educationally with state support.
The history of minor Protestant denominations in Latvia dates back to the 16th century with the arrival of Reformed communities; a Reformed church was built in Riga in 1733. In 1729, the Herrnhuters (Moravian Brethren) began their ministry in Vidzeme; this work continued for a century and significantly influenced the spiritual life of the Latvian people. An Anglican community was officially established in Riga in 1830, and the community built the St. Saviour's Church between 1853 and 1859. The history of Latvian Baptists traces back to 1861, when the first baptism by immersion according to Baptist rites took place; the Union of Latvian Baptists was formed in 1875. As early as the 19th century, the restorationist Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingites, later known as Old Apostolics) had a congregation in Riga.Fokrote, Liva (2000). Christianity in Latvia in the Twentieth Century (PDF), Seminary Masters Teses. Seventh-day Adventists began preaching in Latvia in the mid-1890s. Methodists began their activities in Latvia in 1921. The Holiness movement was represented by the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and the Salvation Army: the Church of God established a missionary society in Riga in 1902 that specialized in preaching among Baltic and Russian Germans, and in 1923, two officers from the Swedish branch of the Salvation Army commenced their ministry there. In 1926, Jānis Grēviņš returned to Latvia from the United States, having embraced Pentecostalism while in America; the following year, he organized the Latvian-American Missionary Society.
William Fetler (Wilhelms Andreis Vettlers, 1883–1957) was a prominent Latvian-American Baptist evangelist, revivalist, and missionary pioneer who spread the evangelical faith across Latvia, Russian Empire and Poland.
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.Encyclopedia of Global Religion by Mark Juergensmeyer, Wade Clark Roof; page 111.State Responses to Minority Religions by Dr David M Kirkham, p.Atlas of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century by Richard Crampton, Benjamin Crampton, p. 90, "Inter-war Latvia: Religious composition"
One of the first new religious movements in Latvia was esoteric Roerichism. And the Latvian Roerich Society (Latvijas Reriha Biedriba) in Riga became one of the global centers of the Roerich movement; it began its activities in the mid-1920s and was officially registered on October 13, 1930. The society was particularly active in publishing books in Russian and Latvian, and it was here that certain works by the Roerichs were published for the first time. The poet and expert of the East Richard Rudzitis served as one of the society's leaders. The society ceased operations following Latvia's incorporation into the USSR and resumed activity and reregistration only in 1988.Stasulane, Anita; Priede, J. "Dynamics of Intra-group Relations: Symbols Used by the Theosophical Groups in Eastern Europe" Culture, Subculture, Counterculture. International Conference, Galaţi, 2–3 November, 2007. Galaţi: Editura Europlus. p. 201. .
The independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia was established in 1922 following the formation of the Latvian state. A Swedish archbishop ordained Kārlis Irbe—who had been elected by the synod—as the Church's Archbishop, while a separate bishop was ordained for the German minority. However, following the establishment of Soviet rule, the archbishop and up to 80% of the pastors were forced to emigrate or deported. It was not until 1954 that the activities of the Latvian Church within the USSR were re-legalized, albeit subject to certain restrictions. After Latvia regained its independence in 1990, the Church underwent a leadership change: figures accused of collaborating with the Soviet authorities were removed from church administration, and a new archbishop was elected.Rubenis, Juris (1999). "Die Wiedergeburt und Erneuerung in den europäischen Kirchen unserer Zeit. Ein Blick aus der Perspektive der Kirche Lettlands" [Rebirth and Renewal in the European Churches of Our Time: A Perspective from the Church of Latvia] (in German). Beiträge zur ostdeutschen Kirchengeschichte [Contributions to East German Church History] (3).
Demographics According to the Annual Report of Religious Organizations and their Activities published by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), based on 2022 data, the largest religious groups are Lutheran (37 percent), Roman Catholic (19 percent), and Latvian Orthodox Christian (13 percent); almost 30 percent of the country is unaffiliated to any religious group.
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 other religions.
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%.
The Latvian polling agency SKDS has also gathered information regarding the religious affiliation of Latvia over the years. In 2018, 26% of the population was Orthodox, 20% identified as Catholic while 17% was Lutheran, and 3% were Old Believers. 14% believed in God without being affiliated to any religion, while 15% declared themselves as atheist. A further 3% belonged to other Christian sects or religions. +Religious affiliation (%)1860189719352000200120032005200620072008200920102011201420162018Orthodox8.98.68.92218.9252426242423232525.62526Catholic18.420.224.51922.3212120222224232122.62220Lutheran66.459.155.22823.8252021212422202318.42017Old Believer3.24.15.52.734224334423Judaism3.27.44.8Other faiths / denominations00.61.22221133143223Belief in God without religion - - -1012.8911101010101199.71014Atheist - - -1817.7121614141115161416.41715Undecided - - -3233642201223
Religion in Latvia, SKDS surveys 2000-2018
Church membership In 2011, churches in Latvia provided the following estimates of church membership to the Justice Ministry: AdherentsNumberLutherans Catholics Orthodox Old Believer Orthodox Baptists Seventh-day Adventists PentecostalsEvangelicals New Generation New ApostolicsLatter-day Saints Methodists Dievturi Augsburg Lutheran Salvation Army Jews Muslims German Lutheran Jehovah's Witnesses Old Apostolics Buddhists Reformed
Religion in Latvia today
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia has 708,773 members. The Catholic Church in Latvia has 430,000 members.Reliģiju Enciklopēdija, Statistika (in Latvian). Accessed 2009-07-23. 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. 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. Latvian Lutherans reinstate male-only clergy. Also active in the country are such independent minor Lutheran denominations as the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide, the Confessional Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession and a community of German Lutherans.
The Latvian Orthodox Church is then-semi-autonomous. In 2022 Latvia passed a law removing all influence or power over the Orthodox Church from non Latvians, which would include the Patriarch of Moscow, making the Orthodox Church of Latvia completely independent. There is also the minor Latvian Orthodox Autonomous Church. Orthodoxy predominates among the Latvian Russian population. The Central Council of the Pomorian Old-Orthodox Church of Latvia is a religious body of the descendants of Russian Old Believers.
Other Christian denominations in Latvia include the Armenian Apostolic Church, Adventists, Calvinists, Episcopal Baptists, Evangelicals, Methodists, the Salvation Army, New Apostolics, Pentecostals, the neo-charismatic New Generation movement, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Latter-day Saints. The Reformed Church in Latvia is a small Reformed denomination with two congregations in Riga. After an Orthodox priest converted to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, brothers from Lithuania helped organize a Greek-Catholic parish in Latvia. In 2003, the Justice Ministry also registered the Christian Scientists as a religious congregation. Such Evangelical movement combinated Christian faith with Jewish traditions as Messianics has a small community there.
Ecumenical cooperation between main churches, namely Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Adventist, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and sometimes even Old Believers, include a celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, joint theological conferences, cooperation in theological education or preparation of the ecumenical religious education curriculum for public schools. The Latvian Evangelical Alliance (LEA) is an interdenominational Christian union of member-bodies and individuals in Latvia founded In 2002, at Riga Cathedral, affiliated to the European and World Evangelical Alliances.