Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Religion in Latvia

This chapter examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and religious life in a country with a low level of religiosity. In Latvia, the pandemic caused a sharp division of society, not only into vaxxers and anti-vaxxers but also into believers and non-believers. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic showed clearly the rise of religious fundamentalists among Christians. The divergent positions of church leaders led to equally diverse positions of congregation members within one religious organisation. The chapter presents general restrictions and the main events related to religion during the pandemic in Latvia. It explains the public debate about the restrictions imposed on religious services. Although religious organisations encouraged their members to comply with the epidemiological security requirements introduced in the country, the restrictive rules were often violated. The media, upon receiving information from people about breaches of restrictions on the part of religious organisations, focused on these breaches, thus causing a strong resonance in the public. The chapter analyses how the COVID-19 pandemic affected life of religious people in Latvia. In conclusion, it explains the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on secularisation/desecularisation processes in Latvia.