A Reconstructed Indigenous Religious Tradition in Latvia

Abstract

In the early 20th century, Dievturība, a reconstructed form of paganism, laid claim to the status of an indigenous religious tradition in Latvia. Having experienced various changes over the course of the century, Dievturība has not disappeared from the Latvian cultural space and gained new manifestations with an increase in attempts to strengthen indigenous identity as a result of the pressures of globalization. This article provides a historical analytical overview about the conditions that have determined the reconstruction of the indigenous Latvian religious tradition in the early 20th century, how its form changed in the late 20th century and the types of new features it has acquired nowadays. The beginnings of the Dievturi movement show how dynamic the relationship has been between indigeneity and nationalism: indigenous, cultural and ethnic roots were put forward as the criteria of authenticity for reconstructed paganism, and they fitted in perfectly with nativist discourse, which is based on the conviction that a nation's ethnic composition must correspond with the state's titular nation. With the weakening of the Soviet regime, attempts emerged amongst folklore groups to revive ancient Latvian traditions, including religious rituals as well. Distancing itself from the folk tradition preservation movement, Dievturība nowadays nonetheless strives to identify itself as a Latvian lifestyle movement and emphasizes that it represents an ethnic religion which is the people's spiritual foundation and a part of intangible cultural heritage. In the 21st century, Dievturība is characterized by conflicting aspects: on the one hand, a desire is expressed to contrast itself and its ethnic views from globalization tendencies in its activities, but on the other hand New Age concepts and a self-reflexive character has entered its discourse.

Current Challenges to the Protection of (Neo)pagans’ Religious Freedom in the Baltic States

“…3 The historical emergence of the Dievturi movement has been explained in the context of the national romanticism (Biezais 1992), and the linkage of its members with the ideology of nationalism (Misāne 2000) and cooperation with the radical right group Thunder Cross (Stasulane 2013) have been analysed. Latvian researchers have analysed the conditions that have determined the reconstruction of the indigenous Latvian religious tradition in the early 20th century, how its form changed in the late 20th century, and the types of new features it has acquired nowadays (Ozolin , š 2013), (Stasulane and Ozolins 2017), (Stasulane 2019). In Lithuania, the leading (neo)pagan group Romuva 4 has been the subject of research repeatedly over the last several decades.…”

Desafiando a hegemonia religiosa

“…In this Ethno-Pagan perspective, common to a number of contemporary Pagan traditions (see e.g. Västrik, 2015;Stasulane, 2019), Christianity is regarded as a foreign ideology imposed by fire and sword that, in the past, has led the country to a gradual decline and eventual loss of sovereignty (Trinkūnas, 1999: 140). It is portrayed as a threat to the ethnic uniqueness because it attempts to substitute the local worldview of the ancestors with a universalistic belief system.…”

Transreligiosity and Religious Revitalization in Modern Greece: Bridging Religion and Science through Geomythology

“…Ethnikoi Hellenes, by contesting mainstream narratives that tie Greek identity to Orthodox Christianity, are striving for the reconstitution of the religious tradition that they perceive as their authentic, autochthonous tradition, tied to a particular place and ethnic identity. The movement has emerged as part of a global trend since the 1980s, with similar movements classified as "Indigenous" or Native Faith in the scholarly literature to describe religious movements that imagine a future rooted in their ancestral traditions (Aitamurto and Simpson 2013;Lesiv 2013;Rountree 2015;Stasulane 2019). European Pagans themselves prefer the term "Indigenous" or "ethnic" religions.…”