Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia stipulates in Article 40 that there is no State church and that “everyone is entitled to freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and freedom of thought” and is “free to belong to any church or any religious society” practicing any religion, on their own and with others, publicly or privately, unless it is “detrimental to public order, health or morals”. Article 12 also provides that no one can be discriminated against on the basis of a religious belief and that “Incitement to ethnic, racial, religious or political hatred, violence or discrimination is prohibited and punishable by law.” According to Article 124, conscientious objectors are granted the right to refuse military service on religious grounds, but they are required by law to perform an alternative service. Finally, the constitution stipulates in Article 123 that any international treaty ratified by the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament), prevails over Estonian law. This includes treaties that protect religious freedom such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The 2002 Churches and Congregations Act establishes the registration of religious associations, defined as “churches, congregations, associations of congregations and monasteries” (Section 2, 1). Religious societies are defined as “voluntary associations”, whose main activities are religious or ecumenical in nature relating to “morals, ethics, education, culture, confessional or ecumenical, diaconal and social rehabilitation outside the traditional forms of religious rites of a Church or congregation and which need not be connected with a specific church association of congregations or congregation” (Section 4, 1).
Churches, congregations, and associations of congregations are obliged to set up their own management boards, which must be located in Estonia “regardless of the location of its spiritual centre” (Section 6, 2). A minimum of 12 adult members is needed to request formal registration. Registration of religious associations and societies falls under the Non-profit Associations Act (Sections 5, 2/ 4, 2). This gives registered religious associations and societies certain tax breaks. Unregistered religious associations are free to conduct religious activities but cannot act as legal bodies, meaning they are ineligible for tax benefits. As of October 2020, there were more than 500 registered religious associations in Estonia.
Optional religious education in municipal and state schools is non-confessional and is based on a national curriculum that covers different religions and worldviews (“usundiõpetus”). In private schools, voluntary religious education may be of a confessional nature (“usuõpetus”).
As the “bearers of historical and cultural tradition”, all religious associations may apply for support to maintain and restore religious buildings. According to the U.S. State Department’s Religious Freedom Report 2021, the government allocated €646,000 to the Estonian Council of Churches, which consists of 10 Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church and both the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate and the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, three of the largest Churches in the country. Different subsidies to compensate for different losses and struggles caused by COVID-19 restrictions were provided by the government and the Ministry of the Interior to every registered religious association that requested it, amounting to a total of €2,168,179. Additionally, €100,000 was allocated by the National Heritage Board for the restoration of the Orthodox Church of Narva-Jõesuu, on the northern border with Russia, which suffered two fires in February and June 2021. It is strongly suspected that both were caused by arson.
Incidents and developments
In 2021 and in 2022 the OSCE ODIHR (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) did not receive reports from the Estonian police or government concerning hate crimes. Nonetheless, reports from other sources indicate that there have been anti-religious hate crimes in the country over this period.
The Observatory on Intolerance Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) reported the aforementioned case of arson in the Orthodox Church of Narva-Jõesuu, which was targeted for a second time in June 2021, destroying the interior of the church. In August, antisemitic graffiti appeared in Tallinn on top of a poster promoting Covid-19 vaccines, reported Vladimir Svet, Deputy Mayor of the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department and the Municipal Police Department. According to the 2021 Religious Freedom Report of the U.S. Embassy in Estonia, the “police did not file formal charges due to what they stated was a lack of evidence and suspects”.
Regarding government restrictions on religious liberty, controversy arose in May 2021 when the Defence Ministry announced a “restructuration of the chaplaincy of the Estonian Defence Forces”, which meant its dissolution due to state budget cuts. This caused public outrage as it was considered an attack on the religious freedoms protected by Estonian law, as indicated ut supra, of those who seek spiritual help in the armed forces.
Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, tensions have also occurred between parts of Estonian society, the government, and the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (EOC-MP), with supporters of the latter accusing the Estonian authorities of violating their freedom of religion and “interfering in the internal affairs of the Church”. The EOC-MP denounced cases of ‘provocations’ against them, such as a false report to the police in April 2022 suggesting that one of their parishes was selling mugs depicting a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On 7 October 2022, the Estonian Ministry of the Interior requested Metropolitan Eugene of Tallinn and All Estonia, primate of the EOC-MP, to express his views on three matters regarding the war in Ukraine in five days, under the threat of launching a proceeding to have the metropolitan's residence permit revoked as he is a Russian citizen. Metropolitan Eugene complied with the request and replied with his condemnation of the war and disagreement with certain comments made by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. The response was satisfactory for the Ministry of the Interior and the application to revoke the metropolitan's residence permit was discarded. However, this request by Estonian authorities was seen by some as interfering with Church affairs. In an interview given by Metropolitan Eugene later that month, he reiterated his condemnation of the war, but also expressed his surprise at “the categorical form in which it was asked”.
In October 2022, the Catholic cathedral in Tallinn received a relic of Saint John Paul II to be placed in its altar. In 2023, the Estonian Church will celebrate the 30th anniversary of a visit of the then Pope to its capital and is planning several events to mark the occasion.
Prospects for freedom of religion
Despite some social tensions due to the current geopolitical situation in 2022, the situation regarding freedom of religion in Estonia remains stable. Other than the restructuring of the chaplaincy in the armed forces, there have been no other reported restrictions on religious freedom and the number of incidents of anti-religious violence remains low.
Estonia