Outside Conventional Forms: Religion and Non-Religion in Estonia

Pathways to Attempted Suicide as Reflected in the Narratives of People with Lived Experience

“…In a very secular country (Estonia) there is a confusion about what role religion/spirituality has in people's lives and how to define it (Remmel and Uibu 2015;Ringvee 2014). This remains an interesting topic for further research.…”

“…In Estonia, the suicide rate has been high, and despite a rapid decrease during the last two decades, it is still above the EU and global averages Värnik 2012;World Health Organization 2014). Estonia has been described as a very secular country, where less than one fifth of people officially report belonging to some denomination or claim that religion is important in their daily lives (Remmel and Uibu 2015;Ringvee 2014). At the same time, subjective religiosity in Estonia has been found to be a protective factor against attempted suicide , and many Estonians believe in "something" related to spirituality and vitality.…”

“…At the same time, subjective religiosity in Estonia has been found to be a protective factor against attempted suicide , and many Estonians believe in "something" related to spirituality and vitality. For Estonians, spirituality is a mix of their religious beliefs and practices that are suitable for modern individualized society (Remmel and Uibu 2015).…”

New Trends in the Study of Religion in Estonia – Contemplations in the Grey Zone between Religion and Science

“…According to this, almost 3000 people identified themselves as members of the Estonian native religion and/or Taara religion, while the Western European neo-pagan movements were represented only by a few people (1 druid, 34 Wiccans, 341 pagans, and 272 followers of New Age beliefs -data according to the webpage pub.stat.ee). It also has to be mentioned in this context that during the European poll to study the religiosity of Europeans, where Estonia gained its status as 'the least religious country' in Europe, more than half of the population admitted to believe in 'higher forces and spirits' (for more details see Remmel & Uibu 2015).…”

Believing, Belonging, and Durkheiming: A Report on the 16th Annual EASR Conference

“…The concept of religion is not, however, perceived as problematic. As the research of some of the conference participants spectacularly shows (see, for instance, Remmel and Uibu 2015), the emergent adherents of various New Age, New Religious, and 'spiritual' movements have a hard time identifying their belief systems and practices as 'religion'. Moreover, Evangelical Christians tend to perceive 'religion' as almost a pejorative, as something hypocritical that contradicts 'pure faith' (see, for instance, Driscoll 2009).…”