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Religious belonging and religious demography

Non-Christian denominations

Until the 2011 population census the largest non-Christian tradition in Estonia was considered to be Islam. However, by 2011 Muslims were outnumbered by indigenous contemporary pagan traditions: (...)

Until the 2011 population census the largest non-Christian tradition in Estonia was considered to be Islam. However, by 2011 Muslims were outnumbered by indigenous contemporary pagan traditions: Native Religion (maausk in Estonian) and Taara-faith (Taarausk in Estonian) with 0.27 percent of the population of 15-years or older. The indigenous traditions are represented by the House of Taara-faith and Native Religions (Taarausuliste ja Maausuliste Maavalla Koda) and one independent Taara-faith association. However, it seems that the vast majority of the people identifying themselves with the indigenous traditions are not affiliated with any organized form of the religion.

Muslims, the second largest non-Christian religion in Estonia, form 0,14% of the whole population. The largest ethnic group in the Muslims community is ethnic Tatars who arrived to Estonia during the late 19th and the early 20th century. There are two registered Muslim religious associations in Estonia as well as other Muslim organizations. There are also four Buddhist, one independent Taara-faith, one Jewish and one ISKCON association registered as religious associations in Estonia. Besides of the Buddhist religious associations there are also a number of different Buddhist non-profit associations.

Bibliography
 Abiline, Toomas and Ringo, Ringvee (2016). "Estonia". In: Ingvar Svanberg and David Westerlund (Eds.). Muslim Tatar Minorities in the Baltic Sea Region. Leiden: Brill, pp. 105−127.
 Ringvee, Ringo (2015). "New Religious Movements and New Age in Estonia". In: James R. Lewis and Inga Bårdsen Tøllefsen (Eds.). Handbook of Nordic New Religions. Leiden: Brill, pp. 478−494.
 Västrik, Ergo-Hart (2015). "In Search of Genuine Religion: The Contemporary Estonian Maausulised Movement and National Discourse". In: Rountree, Kathryn (Ed.). Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses, Oxford: Berghahn, pp. 130−153.

D 14 September 2016    ARingo Ringvee

Religious affiliation according to the 2011 population census

29 % of the population older than 15-years of age are religiously affiliated (28,3 % Christianity, 0,7 % other religions).
55% of the religiously affiliated population in Estonia are ethnic (...)

29 % of the population older than 15-years of age are religiously affiliated (28,3 % Christianity, 0,7 % other religions).

55% of the religiously affiliated population in Estonia are ethnic minorities.

16,4 % of the population consider themselves as members of some religious association.

Source: data from the sociological survey "Elust, usust, usuelust 2010" (On Life, Faith, Religious Life 2010) conducted by social and market research company Saar Poll, from 25 March to 11 April 2010. Published in E. Jõks (ed.) Astu alla rahva sekka. Tallinn : Estonian Council of Churches, 2012.

An analysis of religious belief and national belonging in Central and Eastern Europe (May 2017) is available on the Pew Research Center website (full report available as a pdf document).

D 19 September 2016    ARingo Ringvee

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