Is Our Religious Freedom in Danger? Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Religion in Estonia

Estonia is a highly secularised country, where religious legislation is very liberal and the state’s interference in religious affairs has for the last 30 years been minimal. I suggest in this chapter that, although the restrictions that were imposed in Estonia during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be considered disproportionate, and that during the first wave of coronavirus in 2020 religious organisations were in favour of the limitations, this nevertheless turned out to be a challenge for them, because for the first time in decades the state interfered in religious affairs. In addition, during the pandemic a heated and dividing value debate about the legislation on same-sex unions was going on in Estonian society. In spring and autumn 2020, during the first and second waves of the virus, the question of whether the state has the right to limit religious activity resulted in a confrontation between various factions within religious groups as well as between religious associations and the state. In connection with the restrictions implemented, the question of respecting religious freedom as well as the proportionality of the restrictions were raised in Estonian public media. In this chapter I analyse the position of the Estonian state and various religious institutions during the time of the coronavirus and the discussions held in Estonian society during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to that, I focus on the impact of the pandemic to people’s religiosity and the ‘digital revolution’ in the churches.