According to theLithuanian census of 2021, the predominantreligion inLithuania isChristianity, with the largest confession being that of theCatholic Church (about 74% of the population).[1] There are smaller groups of Orthodox Christians, EvangelicalLutherans, members ofReformed churches, otherProtestants,Jews andMuslims as well as people of other religions.
Lithuania is asecular state and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion and conscience.Christmas andEaster are recognised as national holidays.[2]
The first census in independent Lithuania, in 1923, established the following religious distribution: Catholic — 85.7 per cent; Jews — 7.7 per cent; Protestant — 3.8 per cent; Greek Orthodox — 2.7 per cent.[3]
Catholicism is the majority faith in Lithuania. As per the 2001 Census, 79% of the population followed Catholicism.[4] It decreased to 77% in the 2011 Census[5] and further decreased to 74% in the 2021 Census.[1] According to a 2016 survey, 70% of young adults said they were Catholic but only 5% go to mass weekly.[6]
As per the 2021 Census, the percentage of Catholics are highest (more than 90 %) in the municipalities ofŠilalė district,Lazdijai district,Kalvarija andRietavas and lowest in theVisaginas (24.7%).
About half of the Orthodox population lived inVisaginas (49.1%) and the remaining population are in the cities of Klaipėda (13.1 %) and Vilnius (8.1 %). The Old Believers mostly live in Zarasai district (12.1 %) and Švenčionys district (5 %) municipalities.[7]
According to the 2021 Census, 85.2 % of Poles, 78.8 % of Lithuanians, 44 % of Belarusians, and 15.3 % of Ukrainians are Catholics.
About 50.3 % of Russians, 49.3 % of Ukrainians, and 29.8 % of Belarusians belong to the Orthodox community and about 10.6 % of Russians belong to the Old Believers community. Islam is followed mostly byTatars, with 52.7 % following it. Judaism is followed by the ethnic Jew people (27.3 %).[7]
According to the 2021 census:[1]
According to the 2021 census, 74% of Lithuanians belonged to theCatholic Church,[1] which has claimed the adherence of the majority of Lithuanians since theChristianization of Lithuania in the 14th and 15th centuries.[8] Lithuania kept its Catholic identity under theRussian Empire and later under theSoviet Union when some Catholic priests led the resistance against the Communist regime, which is commemorated in theHill of Crosses nearŠiauliai, a shrine to the anti-communist resistance.
The center ofGreek Catholic life in Lithuania is the Basilian Monastery and Church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius. In the past, the monastery was multiethnic but now serves a mostly Ukrainian community.[9]
In the 16th century, Protestantism began spreading rapidly in Lithuania. The first wave of Protestantism was Lutheranism that reached Lithuania throughPrussia; the second wave was Calvinism that mostly spread throughPoland. This was because many Lithuanians had a relatively poor understanding of Catholic beliefs as there were few Lithuanian-speaking priests at the time.[citation needed] In addition, many sons of influential Lithuanian nobles would study abroad in Germany where they would learn about the ideas ofReformation. When they returned home, they would oftentimes use theirright of patronage to confiscate Catholic churches and give them to pastors, convert their serfs either to Lutheranism or Calvinism. In 1536, the prevalence of Protestantism grew even more as theRadziwiłł, Billewicz, andChodkiewicz families left theRoman Catholic Church. However, Protestantism inLithuania Proper eventually lost ground as it failed to secure the support from the local clergymen and were at odds with one another[clarification needed], which weakened their positions in the country. There were also religious persecutions, which caused many Lithuanian pastors to flee to Lithuania Minor. Despite this, Protestantism remained to have a strong presence in Lithuania Proper until the late 17th century.[10]
TodayProtestants make up 0.8%, of which 0.6% areLutheran and 0.2% areReformed. According to Losch (1932), the Lutherans were 3.3% of the total population; they were mainlyGermans in theMemel territory (now Klaipėda). There was also a tiny Reformed community (0.5%)[11] which still persists. Protestantism has declined with theremoval of the German andPrussian Lithuanian populations, and today it is mainly represented by ethnic Lithuanians throughout the northern and western parts of the country, as well as large urban areas. Believers and the clergy suffered greatly during the Soviet occupation, with many killed, tortured or deported to Siberia. Newly arrivingevangelical churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.[12]
Protestants make up 0.8% of the population,[13] with 0.56% belonging to theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania.
Lutheranism in Lithuania dates back to the 16th century, when it came mainly from the neighbouring German-controlled areas ofLivonia andEast Prussia. A Synod in Vilnius united the church in 1557. The parish network covered nearly all of the Grand Duchy, with district centers in Vilnius, Kedainai, Biržai, Slucke, Kojdanove, and Zabludove, later Izabeline. Small Protestant communities are dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the country.
The majority ofPrussian Lithuanians living in East Prussia and in Memelland (since 1945 theKlaipėda Region of Lithuania) belonged to theEvangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. Most resettled inWest Germany afterWorld War II along with theethnic German inhabitants.
Since 1945, Lutheranism in Lithuania has declined largely due to the ongoing secularization that sweeps throughout Europe.
TheLithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church is a historic denomination which was founded in 1557. A notable member wasSzymon Zajcusz. In the second half of the 16th century, the Unitarians separated. The denomination has over 7,000 members in 14 congregations. The church is a member of theWorld Communion of Reformed Churches[14] and theWorld Reformed Fellowship[15]
Various Protestant churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990, including theUnited Methodists,[16] theBaptist Union,[17] theMennonites,[18] and World Venture.[19]
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Eastern Orthodoxy claims 4.1% of the population, mainly from theRussian minority.[13] Orthodox Christianity is the first form of Christianity to arrive in Lithuania, with the marriage ofAlgirdas toMaria of Vitebsk and the martyrdom of Ss.Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius. The church founded by Maria of Vitebsk,St. Paraskevi Church, is the oldest continuously existing Christian congregation in the country.
Since the 19th century, theRussian Orthodox Church has been represented by adiocese in the country. In March 2023,Patriarch Bartholomew announced his intention to form a church structure under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, following a meeting withIngrida Šimonytė.[20]
Most of theArmenians in Lithuania, making up about 0.1% of population according to its own estimates, belong to theArmenian Apostolic Church, which is often classified as anOriental Orthodox Church, in distinction fromEastern Orthodox (to which the main Russian, Greek and Georgian Churches belong).
An Armenian Apostolic Church dedicated to St. Vardan was opened in Vilnius in 2006.[21]
In Lithuania, Islam has a long history unlike in many other northern European countries. The medievalGrand Duchy of Lithuania of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth allowed Muslims, notably theCrimean Tatars, to settle in the lands in the south.[22] Some of the people from those lands were moved into ethnically Lithuanian lands, now the current Republic of Lithuania, mainly under the rule of Grand DukeVytautas. The Tatars, now referred to asLithuanian Tatars, lost their language over time and now speakLithuanian as natives; however, they have strongly maintained theirMuslim faith.
The Lithuanian Jewish community has roots that go back to before the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lithuania was historically home to a large Jewish community and an important center of Jewish scholarship and culture from the 18th century until the community was almostentirely eliminated duringthe Holocaust. Before World War II, the Lithuanian Jewish population numbered some 160,000, about 7% of the total population.[23]Vilnius alone had a Jewish community of nearly 100,000, about 45% of the city's total population[24] with over 110synagogues and 10yeshivot in the city.[25]
There are communities of Jews of Lithuanian descent around the world, especially inIsrael, theUnited States,South Africa,Zimbabwe,Brazil, andAustralia.
According to the 2001 census, there were 1,272 adherents ofRabbinic andKaraite Judaism.[26] About 4,000 Jews were counted in Lithuania during the 2005 census.[27]
According to a Karaite tradition, several hundredCrimean Karaites were invited to Lithuania by Grand DukeVytautas to settle inTrakai ca. 1397. A small community remains in Trakai, which has preserved theTurkicKaraim language and distinctive customs, such as its traditional dish called "kibinai", a sort of meat pastry, and its houses with three windows, one for God, one for the family and one for Grand Duke Vytautas.
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Medieval Lithuania was the last pagan nation in Europe, officiallyconverting in the late 14th century. The neo-pagan movementRomuva, established in 1967, attempts to reconstruct and reviveLithuanian ethnic religion.[28]
