Lutheranism as one of the oldest areas of Protestantism is considered the historical religion of Estonia, and we should expect that today this religion will remain the most common in the state. However, according to 2011 data, the number of Orthodox Christians in the country significantly prevailed over Lutherans: 16.15% versus 9.91%. In addition, studies over the same year showed that some non-religious citizens make up 54.14%, and ethnic Estonians represent the vast majority of this number. This indicator refers the Republic of Estonia to the countries with the least faithful population on the planet. Data on the religious preferences of the inhabitants of the country are taken from a survey conducted during the last census.
Protestantism
Christianity in this part of the Baltic coast was formed after the lands of the Estonians were annexed to the Livonian Order in the 13th century. After the Reformation of the 16th century, the Evangelical Lutheran Church became the state religion of Estonia, which lasted until 1925.
In 2011, there were 108,513 Lutherans in the country, which accounted for 9.91% of the state’s population. This indicator decreased by about 44 thousand people compared with statistics for 2000. According to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the state has 200 thousand of its followers, of which only 50 000 can be considered active parishioners. The episcopal administration of over 165 communities of the country is now headed by Archbishop Urmas Wijlma.
Other Protestant movements are represented in Estonia by communities of Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists and Methodists. In 2011, adherents of these churches together totaled about 8.5 thousand people, which amounted to approximately 0.8% of the population of the Republic.
Orthodoxy
This religion in Estonia is represented by two patriarchies - Moscow and Constantinople. At the moment, Orthodoxy is the largest Christian denomination in the state, distributed not only among the ethnic Russian minority, but also among Estonians.
Until the 17th century, individual Orthodox congregations founded by Pskov and Novgorod merchants were present in the state. Many Old Believers fled to the Estonian lands from Nikon reforms, and today there are up to 3,000 people. But Orthodoxy began to spread after 1721, when Estonia became the Estland province among the territories of the Russian Empire. Throughout the nineteenth century, hoping to obtain land allotments, many local peasants converted to Orthodoxy, abandoning the Protestant faith.
Orthodoxy has become the most widespread religion in Estonia due to a significant increase in the number of non-religious citizens. Now the Moscow Patriarchate has 31 parishes, over 100 thousand parishioners in the country. The Patriarchate of Constantinople has 60 parishes, uniting about 7,000 believers, mostly ethnic Estonians. The results of the 2011 survey showed that 176,773 citizens in the country professed Orthodoxy, and this amounted to 16.15% of the population.
Catholicism
What religion can be considered the third most prevalent in Estonia? Seven years ago, the Catholic and Baptist churches occupied this position with an equal, 4.5 thousand, number of followers, which amounted to 0.41% of the population. Catholicism developed fully on Estonian lands since the 19th century. And 1905, when the “Manifesto of Tolerance” was published, was the beginning for the construction of new monasteries and the creation of Catholic parishes. This continued after the proclamation of the independent Republic of Estonia until 1940, until the state became part of the USSR.
According to 2008 data, the Estonian Catholic community consisted of 9 parishes, 14 priests and 5,745 parishioners. According to 2011, 4,5 thousand citizens out of 1,094,564 called Catholicism their religion. This amounted to 0.41% of the population of the state.
Other faiths
The latest information identified 1,508 Muslims from the total population of Estonia. But other polls estimate this number in the range of 10-20 thousand adherents. These are mainly descendants of ethnic groups of Kazakh, Tatar, Uzbek, Azerbaijani and other nationalities who moved either during the period of the Russian Empire or distributed to jobs in Soviet times.
Of the more or less significant groups, Buddhists, who made up 0.1% of the population, and Jehovah's Witnesses, who made up the fourth Estonian religion in the number of believers in 2011, should also be noted. The community united almost 4,000 adherents, which corresponded to 0.36% of citizens.
Neopaganism
In the 1930s, a revival of the cult of the local pre-Christian religion in Estonia began. The peculiarities of this movement today should be noted the union of the two cult areas of Taarausk and Maausk into a single community "Maavalla Koda."
Taarausk is based on the rituals of veneration of the ancient pagan god Taara, Maausk is a reconstruction of the indigenous religion of Estonians who worshiped nature. The 2011 census showed that 0.17% of the population relates to these neopagan movements. The purpose of the “Maavalla Koda”, as stated on the organization’s website, is to revive and disseminate the ancient local culture, religion, with its creeds and customs. According to independent studies, today about 11% of the population have become followers or sympathizers of the ideas of the movement.