page_title: Religion in Latvia
section_title: Religion in Latvia today
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Latvia / Religion in Latvia today
caption_attribution_description: 2018.gada 24.septembris. Svētā mise Aglonā. Foto: Ernests Dinka, Saeima Izmantošanas noteikumi: saeima.lv/lv/autortiesibas
context_page_description: The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. As of 2011, it is the largest religion, though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly. Lutheranism is the main Christian denomination among ethnic Latvians due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and Northern Germany, while Catholicism is most prevalent in Eastern Latvia, mostly due to Polish influence. The Latvian Orthodox Church is the third largest Christian church in Latvia, with adherents primarily among the Russian-speaking minority.
context_section_description: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia has 708,773 members. The Catholic Church in Latvia has 430,000 members. Historically, the west and central parts of the country have been predominantly Protestant, while the east – particularly the Latgale region – has been predominantly Catholic, although Catholics are now common in Riga and other cities due to migration from Latgale. Historically, Lutherans were the majority, but Communist rule weakened Lutheranism much more than Catholicism, with the result that there are now only slightly more Lutherans than Catholics. The Latvian Orthodox Church is semi-autonomous and has 370,000 members. Orthodoxy predominates among the Latvian Russian population.
  As of 2011, the population of Jews in Latvia was 416; and there were several hundred Muslims in Latvia. A modern neopagan movement is Dievturība.
  The Reformed Church in Latvia is a small Reformed denomination with two congregations in Riga.
  As of 2011, the Justice Ministry had registered 1145 congregations. This total included: Lutheran (294), Catholic (250), Orthodox (122), Baptist (94), Old Believer Orthodox (69), Pentecostal (52),  Seventh-day Adventist (51), Evangelical (39), New Generation (18), Muslim (17), Jehovah's Witnesses (15), Jewish (13), Methodist (12), New Apostolic (11), Hare Krishna (11), Dievturi (10), Buddhist (4), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) (4), and 18 other congregations. In 2003, the Government also registered the Christian Scientists as a recognized religious congregation.
  In 2011, churches in Latvia provided the following estimates of church membership to the Justice Ministry:
caption: Pope Francis in Latvia, September 2018
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