The Baltic Churches and the Transition from Socialism to Democracy

1
The Baltic Churches and the Transition from
Socialism toDemocracy

• Mikko Ketola
• Adjunct Professor
• Department of Church History

Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki
2
The Contents of the Lecture

• The Religious Map of the Baltic States
• The Churches Role in the Restoration of
  Sovereignty
• The Struggle to Come to Terms with the Past or
  Vergangenheitsbewältigung
• Politics and Christian Values
• The Post-Communist Theological Landscape

3
Estonia and Latvia From 1939 to 2006

• Estonia 1939 Lutheran 79 per cent
• Orthodox 19 per cent
• Estonia 2006 (population 1,32 million)
• Lutheran 15 per cent
• Orthodox 14 per cent
• Latvia 1939 Lutheran 55 per cent
• Roman Catholic 25 per cent
• Orthodox 9 per cent
• Latvia 2006 (population 2,27 million)
• Roman Catholic 19 per cent
• Orthodox 15 per cent
• Lutheran 9 per cent

4
The Churches Role in the Restoration of National
Sovereignty

• Lithuania Catholic Church a strong national
  force, human rights issues
• Latvia Rebirth and Renewal, ecclesiastical
  revolution
• Estonia Lutheran pastors active in the Estonian
  Heritage Society

5
The Struggle to Come to Terms with the Past

• Historical commissions to investigate crimes
  against humanity
• Lithuanian and Estonian heads of state absent
  from Moscow on May 9, 2005
• Holocaust-awareness
• Lithuania The law on lustration collaborators
  in clergy
• Estonia Struggle about the Orthodox Church
• Latvia A Baltic version of the Stasi problem
• Indrek Jürjo Exile and Soviet Estonia

6
Politics and Christian Values

• Christian democratic parties weak
• Disillusionment with post-Communist reality
• Latvia Demonstration of church leaders against
  the state on independence day 2000
• Latvia Pastor Eriks Jekabsons and Latvias First
  Party introduction of American-style culture
  wars homophobia
• Estonia Christian Values in Estonian Politics
• Churches in favour of EU accession

7
The Post-Communist Theological Landscape

• Conservative trends
• Ordination of women stopped in Latvía by
  archbishop Janis Vanags
• The blessing of homosexual relationships
• Lack of theological education
• Long isolation
• Suspicion towards western theology
• Increased influence of the conservative American
  Lutheran Missouri Synod
• Western ecclesiastical besserwisserism
• The Catholic Church Catching up with the Vatican
  II

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Conclusion

• The Baltic Churches pro-democracy but
  counter-cultural
• Minority, non-state churches can resist pressure
  from secular society to adopt unwanted positions
  (for instance abortion, homosexual partnerships,
  ordination of women)
• Declining membership, advancing secularization
  lead to marginalization of societal influence
• Churches more reactive than active, public
  statements rarely result of deep theological
  reflection
• Best results gained by ecumenical cooperation