RELIGION
The largest religion is Christianity, although only 7 % of population attend religious services regularly. The largest groups are Lutheran (400,000), Roman Catholic (450,000), Eastern Orthodox (350,000).
According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 37 % of Latvian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 49 % answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 10 % that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
Lutheranism was much stronger before the Soviet occupation, when it was a majority religion, but since then Lutheranism in all the Baltic States has declined to a much greater extent than has Roman Catholicism. The country’s Orthodox Christians belong to the Latvian Orthodox Church, a semi-autonomous body within the Russian Orthodox Church. There are 182 known Muslims living in Latvia; total number of Muslims in Latvia, however, is estimated to be much larger - from 500 to 5,000. There are also Jews (9,743 in 2006) in Latvia.
There are more than 600 Latvian neopagans, Dievturi (The Godskeepers), whose religion is based on Latvian mythology. About 40 % of the total population is not affiliated with a specific religion.
CULTURE
Latvia’s population has been multiethnic for centuries, though the demographics shifted dramatically in the 20th century due to the World Wars, the emigration and removal of Baltic Germans, the Holocaust, and occupation by the Soviet Union.
Latvians and Livonians, the indigenous peoples of Latvia, now form about 60 % of the population; 28 % of the inhabitants are Russian. Approximately 56 % of the ethnic Russians living in Latvia are citizens of Latvia. In 2005 there were even fewer Latvians than in 1989, though their share of the population was larger (1,357,099 - 58,8 % of the inhabitants).
Between the 13th and 19th century, Baltic Germans, many of whom were originally of non-German ancestry but had been assimilated into German culture, formed the upper class. They developed a distinct cultural heritage, characterized by both Latvian and German influences. It has survived in German Baltic families to this day, in spite of their dispersal to Germany, the USA, Canada and other countries in the early 20th century. However, most indigenous Latvians did not participate in this particular cultural life. Thus, the mostly peasant local pagan heritage was preserved, partly merging with Christian traditions, for example in one of the most popular celebrations today which is J??i, a pagan celebration of the summer solstice, celebrated on the feast day of St. John the Baptist.
In the 19th century Latvian nationalist movements emerged promoting Latvian culture and encouraging Latvians to take part in cultural activities. The 19th century and beginning of the 20th century is often regarded as a classical era of Latvian culture. Posters show the influence of other European cultures, for example, works of artists such as the Baltic-German artist Bernhard Borchert and the French Raoul Dufy.
After incorporation into the USSR, Latvian artists and writers were forced to follow the Socialist realism style of art. During the Soviet era, music became increasingly popular, with the most popular being songs from the 1980s. At this time, songs often made fun of the characteristics of Soviet life and were concerned about preserving Latvian identity. This aroused popular protests against the USSR and also gave rise to an increasing popularity of poetry. Since independence, theatre, scenography and classical music have become the most notable branches of Latvian culture.
More information about culture, history, urbanism, social stratification, gender role, etiquette and religion can be found at www.everyculture.com