Prof. Carl-Johan Kleberg, former Chairman of the Swedish Humanist Association, presented this report to the 1st Baltic Humanist Conference in Stockholm. Based on a study of 11 Nordic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden, it makes a series of recommendations viz. that public officials should not participate in religious ceremonies, and that churches and life stance organisations should mainly be supported by their members and that where support is given they should be treated as NGOs. The report also asks for public service functions like national registration, performing of marriages etc. to be given to public authorities. Asking for abolishing of theological faculties, the report recommends that the public school system must provide unbiased education on different life stances, emphasising basic human values.

The Baltic region

The World Values Survey showing long term changes in the value systems in about 80 countries has been summarized in a very interesting report Sacred and Secular, Religion and Politics Worldwide by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Cambridge 2004. They define religious behaviour in a pragmatic way, based on frequency of prayer and attendance at religious services.

In Norris & Inglehart’s analysis the Baltic region is made of two different groups: Nordic countries (which fall under Western countries) and Post-Communist countries.

For the Nordic countries the authors refer to studies on the belief in god and life after death.

Belief in god
Denmark 80 % in 1947 62 % in 2001 a decrease of 18 %
Finland 83 % in 1947 72 % in 2001 a decrease of 11 %
Norway 84 % in 1947 65 % in 1995 a decrease of 19 %
Sweden 80 % in 1947 46 % in 2001 a decrease of 34 %

Belief in life after death
Denmark 55 % in 1947 32 % in 2001 a decrease of 23 %
Finland 69 % in 1947 44 % in 2001 a decrease of 25 %
Norway 71 % in 1947 43 % in 1995 a decrease of 28 %
Sweden 49 % in 1947 39 % in 2001 a decrease of 10 %

One important point in Norris and Inglehart’s report is the relation between religious belief and the social environment that people experience during their formative years. Growing up in societies in which survival is uncertain (measured with indicators for poverty, malnutrition, being defense-less against diseases like HIV/AIDS etc.) is conducive to religiosity. This explains on the other hand the diminishing role of religion in the Nordic area in which survival is so secure that people take it for granted during their formative years. The welfare state is thus the explanation for the declining role of religion! We find also a clear relation between religious belief and attitudes to moral issues like abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia – the most liberal views are to be found in typical welfare states as the Nordic.

History has put the post-communist countries in a different position, analysed by Norris and Inglehart in a chapter called A Religious revival in Post–Communist Europe? There are huge differences amongst the countries: for example the more secular Estonia compared to the highly religious Poland, but there is a clear overall decline in all indicators of religiosity which confirm the patterns found in the Baltic countries from Western Europe.

The Constitutional Position
It is common for Islamic countries to confirm their country’s religious identity in their constitutions; surprisingly, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway too have similar statements, confirming their Evangelical- Lutheran identity.
In Norway the constitution enjoins the state to protect and defend the Evangelical-Lutheran faith and church. All citizens have freedom of religion but state church members are obliged to give their children a Christian upbringing. The Finnish constitution only says that Finland has two State churches while the Swedish Constitution is very special in that the main document from 1976 has only a reference to freedom of religion. However, a special constitutional text from 1810 about the Head of State says that the King and his family must stay in the Lutheran Church and believe in definitions of that belief made in a 1593 text and in the 1530 Augsburg Confession – failing which they will lose the right to the Crown! Denmark’s constitution says that the king or queen must belong to the Danish church, which in turn should be supported by the state. Freedom of religion is mentioned and there is a special law on support to religious communities outside the state church. The Icelandic constitution says that the Evangelical Lutheran state church must be supported and protected by the state. Another article states that everyone shall be equal under the law and enjoy human rights irrespective of gender, religion, opinion, national origin, race, colour, property, birth, or other status. The Icelandic constitution seems to contradict itself.

The constitution in Poland has without doubt the most extensive treatment of the religious dimension but at the same it accepts that all Poles are not believers. It speaks about its citizens, “both those who believe in God as the source of truth, justice, good and beauty, as well as those not sharing such faith but respecting those universal values as arising from other sources”. It stresses equal treatment and freedom of expression. The relations to” the Roman Catholic Church shall be determined by international treaty concluded with the Holy See, and by statute” The relations to “other churches and religious organizations shall be determined by statutes adopted pursuant to agreements” with the Council of Ministers.

On the other side we have countries with modern constitutions like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany where nothing is said about belonging to a specific religion. Instead, freedom of religion is the basic principle. The German and Russian constitutions mention the right to have a religion. The German constitution mentions non-religious life stances.

In Lithuania, the state recognises churches and religious organisations provided that they have a basis in society and their teaching and rituals do not contradict morality or the law. Churches and religious organisations recognised by the state have the rights of legal persons.

A similar system in Estonia: “All are free to engage in acts of worship, in public or in private, as long as this does not impair public order, health or morals”.

The State’s Relation with the Church or Religious Communities

Many different arrangements exist, ranging from state churches to churches with state support to fully independent churches and religious communities.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway have state churches.

In Norway a reform is under discussion. A governmental committee has proposed a change with a majority suggesting loosened ties between the state and church but with a privileged position for the church.

The final outcome is unsure. In Denmark, Finland and Iceland there are no official initiatives for changes of the state church system, but the Danish Atheist organisation has initiated a discussion.

In Denmark the Church Ministry has the right to approve religious organisations, and gives them, for example, the right to marry people. New born children must register in a church office and local priests are in charge of the cemeteries.

In Iceland the state agreed in 1997 to pay the church a huge amount of money for an eternity for lands, which the church owned many centuries ago. The communions have the same right to perform ceremonies as the state church.

Of the three Nordic state church countries, the Finnish constitution recognises two state churches, the Evangelical Lutheran and the Orthodox Church. Of the three, the Finnish constitution has the most elaborated section on freedom of religion with the right to be a member or decline to be a member of a religious community. Fifty-five religious groups have been registered as religious communities. In order to get this status, a religious group should have at least twenty members. The 2003 Law on Freedom of Religion includes regulations on registered religious communities and there is no longer a bar on a person from being a member of several religious communities simultaneously.

In 2000, Sweden finally saw reform of the traditional state church system, after decades of preparation. The Church has now got the full power to choose bishops and clergymen and decide on its own rules within the frame of a short law stating the role of the Lutheran church. The state collects the member fees of the Swedish church and some communions together with taxes. The Church and some communions have the right to officiate weddings. Civil marriages are officiated by judges or people nominated by county administrative boards after proposals from municipal councils.

The situation in Germany is similar to the Swedish. The big two Christian churches (Catholic and Protestant) get money out of the church taxes every member of the Christian community has to pay. They are collected by the state. There are treaties between the German state and the church, which comprise special privileges concerning the corporate body conditions of the communions. So the Christian communions are exempted from paying some taxes and fees that other e.g. non-religious associations have to pay.

Poland has churches and communions with state privileges. In Lithuania the state supports churches and religious communities by various means: their income is tax-free and the state gives financial support.

In Russia the state is formally indifferent to religious organizations but in reality – and secretly – it gives financial support to the Moscow Patriarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian President and representatives of state authorities show a moral support by attending religious ceremonies.

In principle, Latvia is a secular state but in reality some churches (traditional Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox) have privileges. Estonia has no state church. The churches and religious organisations are registered in the Ministry of Internal affairs.

The State and the Non-religious Life Stance

The state’s attitude towards non religious life-stance organisations varies from huge support to no support at all, which is more the case.

It is in Norway that the non religious lifestance organisation gets the most support from the state. From
1981 the non-religious life stance organisations have been able to claim financial support from the state and the local municipalities based on the number of members. The religious groups have since 1969 had the right to get this support. This is a means of compensating for tax paid by those who are not state church members.

The Norwegian Humanist Association is heard in matters concerning ethics and life stances or in matters that have implications for the organization – like education. They are invited to meetings with the political system – both in their own capacity as well as through participation in The Council for Religious and Life-stance communities. In Finland two Humanist associations receive state grants.

In Germany too non-religious life stance organisations can receive state grants. They are acknowledged by law like any other NGO. They do not get tax allowance and other advantages which the churches do. The umbrella organisation of freethinkers and other non-religious life stance organisations raise their voice and apply to be a member in different alliances – for example, they joined the “alliance for education” which has recently been founded by the German Ministry for education and family. Non-religious life stance organisations are not allowed to initiate social projects like non-religious counselling either in the army, in prisons or hospitals

In Denmark, Iceland, Poland, Russia, and Sweden there is no question of either recognition or economic support. In Iceland the government has consulted the Humanist organisation as regards most bills that come up for a decision in Parliament, and have to do with ethics and human rights. The Swedish Humanist association has sent comments during the reform of the State Church system but without being able to influence the final decision. Efforts to have the same economic support as religious communions have been rejected just as in Iceland.

In Latvia there is no Humanist association and the whole phenomenon of NGOs is a recent development. In Lithuania there is no organisation at least no one that has been able to identify.

How are churches, communions and life stance organisations financed?

Churches and communions

We find two different solutions for the financing of the churches. The one used in Denmark, Iceland and Norway is direct support by the state. The other way is that the state collects member fees just as taxes are. We find such system in Finland, Germany and Sweden. Besides those fees the state can give direct support for specific aims. The support to communions outside the main churches is done as direct state grants related to the number of members or for specific purposes.

In Latvia money comes from direct support from the members and income on property.

The situation in Russia is unclear as the Russian Orthodox Church receives secret state support.

In Norway the state and the municipalities together support the church, communions and non-religious lifestance organisations. All other religious bodies and life stance communities are given “about the same amount” per member. There are some serious problems related to how this sum is decided: the church’s membership register is not reliable and there is quite some state or municipal financial support that is not considered when the per capita sum is set.

The Danish state pays approximately 100 000.000 ¤to the church from the state budget. The state helps collecting an additional church tax from the members of the church. Approved communions get a tax free membership fee.

All religious denominations in Iceland (around 20 in addition to the state church) receive church tax money based on the number of members (ca. 85 ¤per year) but in addition, the state church receives ca. 40 million ¤.

In Finland all citizens who belong to either state church pay a church tax set at 1 to 2 % of income, varying with the congregation, as part of their income tax. These taxes are used to defray the costs of running the churches. State churches also handle services such as recording births, deaths, and marriages, which for citizens outside these churches are handled by official state registrars. Religious groups are eligible for some tax relief (for example, they may receive tax-free donations), provided that they are registered with, and recognized by, the Government as religious communities.

State subsidies were being planned for registered religious communities and the amount of the subsidy would be approximately 5 euros per person, although the smallest communities would not qualify for these subsidies. Though very small, the subsidies would nonetheless mean a step toward greater religious equality.

A similar system is applied in Sweden, where the members of the church pay an income-related fee that the state collects together with the collection of taxes. The state collects fees for some communions and the communions get a state support (2006: 5 million ¤), distributed by a special state authority consisting of representatives of the communions. The Swedish church get a special large grant for preservation of old churches. For the big two Christian churches (protestant and catholic) in Germany the members pay an income-related fee that the state collects. Because of the treaty between the state and the church which is decided by law the church in the state Brandenburg gets 1,1 million ¤per year just only because it is the church. The church is also supported for social projects and work it does.

In Lithuania churches and communities are supported by their members. Some catholic priests require payment of fixed sums for performance of religious rites. The Roman Catholic and some other churches are also supported by the state, especially when there is a need to preserve old buildings.

The Church in Poland is financed from numerous public and other sources: e.g. the so called Church Fund
(Government), local governments, State owned companies, European Union (as the largest land owner in Poland ??), business activities, all sorts of state and non-governmental foundations, illegal activities.

Non religious life stance organisations

In most Baltic countries non-religious life stance organisations cannot receive state grants. The exceptions are Norway, Finland and Germany.

Norway has the most generous system giving the same per capita state support as the church and communions receive. That is a system that has contributed to make the Norwegian Humanist Association the biggest in the world having local associations in most (all?) municipalities.

In Finland the Finnish Humanist Union and the Union of Freethinkers of Finland receive State grants. Non religious life stance organisations in Germany are only financed by the state for particular social projects and work. As well as the church they have to apply for it. Like other NGOs the work of non religious associations in Germany are financed by the member fees, which are not collected by the state, and of donations.

Strange mixture of antiquated and modern elements

The results are surprising. They are also partly disappointing and depressing.

The Nordic countries known for their modern welfare systems have heads of state called kings or queens without power. They are also the only citizens without freedom of religion – in Sweden the whole royal family is denied this freedom. We find state religions and state churches in three of them, just like in Muslim countries. Even if it took 40 years for Sweden to disestablish its church, there was a huge ost to this reform. Norway and Finland have Christianity in the school curricula.

Between 75 and 85% of the populations are members of their state churches. At the same time those countries are amongst the most secularized countries in the world!

On the otherside, we find the most modern constitutions in post-communist and post-fascist countries – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany. They have guarantees for freedom of religion and equal treatment of religious and non- religious organisations. At the same time there are powerful conservative religious pressure groups in these countries, notably in Russia and Poland.

Everywhere in the region we see that the power of the churches and the religious communities is based on a very good financial situation. The churches in the Baltic region are perhaps amongst the richest churches in the world. At the same time, equal treatment of the secular organisations with religious ones exists only a in few countries, mainly Norway, Finland and Germany. In the other countries where secular organisations exist, they are not accepted as equal to the religious organisations. In Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania there are no secular or humanist organisations at all, not even networks.

The situation as a whole demands change and reform.

Promoting humanist ideas and solutions

It is surprising that Denmark, Iceland and Finland do not have reform of their state church system on their political agenda. All the Nordic countries need reform of their antiquated constitutions: strange rules about the religion of the heads of state and members of the government must as soon as possible be abolished as should the idea of a state religion.

Reforms of school systems are urgent – Norway has to make the broadest reform to remove the privileges for the support of the majority religion.

A general reason for a change in the privileged role of Christians is the fact that immigration has changed the countries from monocultural socitiesystems to multicultural states.

The problems for Russia, Estonia, Latvia Lithuania, Poland and Germany do not lie in their constitutions but more in how they are applied. In the case of Russia one main problem is to find the reality behind the kind of secret support to the big church.

From all post-communist countries we hear about the development of new and old religious organisations. Churches influence the legislation in the area of ethics. There is a need of counteraction. The old Soviet system has created many problems but one advantage is the existence of civil ceremonies for marriages and funerals.

All of our countries have a democratic structure that makes changes possible. But the voices are manifold and the representatives of the religious groups are loud and powerful. They succeed in getting the politicians to listen to them. Therefore the Humanist organisations must learn from each other to develop strategies for influencing the opinions.