Freedom of religion in the Baltic States: a sociological and legal analysis
ENThis article analyses freedom of religion in the three Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – from legal and sociological perspectives. Its main aim is to research how freedom of religion was implemented in these countries after the 1990s; for this an analysis of legal documents and sociological surveys was applied. It appears that the best way to analyse freedom of religion is to research how it is implemented at the macro, meso and micro levels and focuses on the situation of minority religions, particularly new religious movements. Although the Baltic States had common historical experiences within the Soviet Union, where religion was removed from public life, different models of implementation of the freedom of religion were chosen and applied. From a macro perspective freedom of religion was implemented in the 1990s, but at the institutional level it was supported only after the countries entered the European Union. The issue of freedom of religion challenges these societies at the individual level, especially Lithuania. The analysis of the implementation of freedom of religion in the Baltic States reveals differences between these societies, existing borders between majority and minority religions.
