The Baltic Churches in the Process of Transformation and Consolidation of Democracy since 1985

Abstract

The author first looks at the changes that have taken place on the religious map of the Baltic States from the 1930s to the present. It is clear that the Lutheran Church is no longer a majority church in Estonia or in Latvia. Only the Catholic Church in Lithuania can claim a clear majority position. It is then pointed out that the churches in each Baltic country had a significant role in the restoration of national sovereignty, although there were interesting differences. The struggle to come to terms with the past has been a more or less essential task in all three Baltic states. Each of them set up in the 1990s a historical commission to investigate the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Nazi and Soviet occupiers. It is obvious that in all three Baltic states the long Soviet period is generally considered more harmful and destructive than the comparatively brief Nazi occupation. In politics, Christian democratic parties have not been very successful in any of the Baltic States. In both Latvia and Lithuania, church leaders have criticized politicians for failing to take satisfactory measures against a wide range of political and social problems that cause concern for the churches. The mainstream Churches in all three Baltic states were clearly in favour of the EU membership. The post-Communist theological landscape in the Baltic Countries can be desribed as conservative. This has manifested itself especially in two things. The first is the rejection of the ordination of women, especially in Latvia, and the second is the negative stance on the blessing of homosexual partnerships combined with a general homophobic atmosphere. Theological discussion and controversy is to a large extent considered a luxury the churches can not afford.