Accommodation of Religious Rules in Estonian Law and Practice

BYU L. Rev., 2001

Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, sectio K – Politologia, 2022

In the academic debates on the relationship between the State and religious communities in Estonia there are two standpoints. The first one emphasizes the role of religious communities, particularly the Christian ones, in the formation of Estonian statehood as well as the history of the country. The activity of the churches in the sphere of charity and social welfare is perceived positively. At the same time, academics draw attention to the fact that Estonians are not very religious, thus, all forms of privileging religious communities are considered debatable. The second approach also emphasizes the historical significance of religious communities, but simultaneously approves of their increased activity, especially in the context of rebuilding Estonian identity after the era of Soviet domination. The goal of this article is to analyse the main assumptions of religious policy in Estonia after 1991, as well as the main factors that determined the current solutions. The conducted research is supposed to answer the question: why does the government of a country with one of the longest traditions of separation of state and religion in the region make many symbolic acts towards churches and religious associations? Furthermore, it will enable the verification of the hypothesis which assumes that the religious policy of contemporary Estonia is influenced by the conviction about the role of churches and religious associations in the history of the country, as well as by the recognition of religion as a factor in building the identity of the post-Soviet state. The text is divided into three parts. In the first part there will be analysed the issues of changes in the denominational structure of Estonia. The second part will present the results of the research on the historical conditions of Estonia's denominational policy. The last part will analyse the legal solutions in Estonia concerning the state-religious community relations.

The Library of Essays on Law and Religion, Vol. II, 2013

Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe (RASCEE), 2015

The paper focuses on the features that have influenced the current religious landscape of Estonia, considered to be one of the most secularised countries in the world, and its “special path” to secularisation. To explain the irregularities demonstrated by sociological surveys, the paper argues for a situational and inclinational approach to the study of (non-)religiosity as the majority of religious phenomena remain outside the conventional frames of religious commitment that are centred on religious belief and belonging.

Religion & Human Rights, 2011

Estonian Study of Religion: A Reader, 2019

SUMMARY: 1. The value of religious law in modern (and secular) states-2. Religious rules and individual choices in Europe-3. Religious law and the fields in which it can operate effectively-4. The rules of religious courts in civil legal systems-4.1 ..The direct referral to religious laws-4.2. The pronounces of religious courts and its importance for faithful-5. The development of Religious Arbitration Courts in Italy-6. Does religious jurisdiction another side of religious freedom? This draft was presented in occasion of the Conference “Law as Religion, Religion as Law”, held in Jerusalem, June 5th-7th, 2017, in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and organized by The Matz Institute for Research in Jewish Law, and The Aharon Barak Center for Interdisciplinary Legal Research.

Stato, Chiese e Pluralismo Confessionale, 2016

Paper, peer reviewed, for: Liber amicorum Tito Ballarino , Institut Suisse Droit Compare . SUMMARY : 1. Preliminary Remarks - 2. Religious values and nationality - 3. Electio iuris and religious values - 4. Public policy and religious values - 5. The Conventional approach - 6. Conclusive Remarks. Abstract: The wide evolution of private international law is currently recalling attention to the general aspects of the discipline. Europeanization and globalisation of sources of private international law do not preclude the chance that conflict of laws should also deal with individual identities. To the extent that the European systems have hitherto offered to the application of foreign laws, we are faced with the problem of survival in Europe of an idea of the personality of laws. In fact it’s generally accepted that conflict of laws faces the individual identities of people involved in international relations. Cultural identity may be considered collective and individual at the same ti...