Could it be expediency?

              
                                                Estonia Memorial in Tallinn

       

On September 7, 2012, I participated at an international seminar organized in Tallinn by the Women Theologians' Consultation of the Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck and her Partner Churches.  The topic was "Challenges of change in the Church and society".  I had been asked to present the Estonian perspective.  The title of my presentation was "Could it be expediency?"

Last year I visited my daughter’s family in Singapore.  At Christmas, among the presents my granddaughters received was a book that gave an overview of every country in the world.  Naturally, I was curious to see what it said about Estonia.  While it mentioned some facts about her terrain and history, it also stated that the country has the smallest percentage of people who believe in God. This statistic formed a curious contrast to the information that in Estonia is the church whose steeple made it the tallest building in the world in the 16^th century.  Christianity has been here a long time.

I did not discuss that information with my granddaughters, but, no doubt, they stored it in their knowledge bank and a certain impression of their grandmother was formed.

If it is true that this nation has the smallest percentage of people who believe in God – and there seems to be agreement on that - then this is also one aspect to consider when coping with the challenges faced by the Lutheran Church in our society. 

Whenever discussions of Estonians’ lack of interest in organized religion occur some opinions remain on the sieve.  The prevalent explanation is that historically, one foreign power after another – each with its own brand of religious persuasion – has ruled over Estonians.  Stories abound to this day of the resistance to Christianity when it was brought here by the sword and fire.  To many it’s a religion forced upon them. 

The most recent foreign power to exercise its authority here – and it ended less than a generation ago - proclaimed atheism to be the truth.  As a consequence, many Estonians ask: whose is the true belief?  Why should I believe this or that teaching?  To a certain extent, therefore, it is understandable that now, when independence has been restored, many Estonians do not want to be bothered with religion – they want to be left alone.

Here, perhaps, a word about the title of my presentation.  Titles are never easy to find.  But as I started doing research and thinking about the topic, the question occurred to me  whether the Estonian was not historically doing the expedient thing by embracing one religion or another.  Of course, that does not mean there were no genuine believers.  But, we know, for example, that in the 19^th century many Estonians embraced Russian Orthodoxy with the encouragement of the Tsar’s regime – it is also called “Russification” – and the belief that it would facilitate an end to serfdom and they would become landowners.  My own grandmother’s family in southern Estonia, for example, converted to Russian Orthodoxy in order to become landowners.

It is also well known that during the Soviet occupation, one’s success on the career latter was pretty much assured as a member of the Communist Party.  There is a certain holdover from that period, because even today jobs and positions are easier to get in Estonia if one is a member of a political party in power. In the Soviet period, it was left largely to the women to attend to the church buildings and the congregations, because men did not want to risk their careers by being associated with religious institutions.  Expediency? One of the consequences of men distancing themselves from religious affiliation was a deficiency of clergy which led to the ordination of women by the Church. I think that period also demonstrates genuine devotion to the Church, because those church buildings that remained in use for religious observance – many were used as warehouses, weight rooms, movie studios and so on – were maintained solely by the congregations themselves. So, when you look at the cathedral on Toompea, or St. Olaf’s in the Lower Town, reflect on the sacrifices the members of these congregations made for many years.  I am also told that after independence was restored, men took over the leadership positions in the churches and these women were relegated into the background.

But what about the situation today?  According to some studies, the number of people who consider religion to be important in their everyday lives has been increasing after the restoration of independence.  Currently, they constitute about 27 percent of the population.  About 40 percent of the population consider themselves believers when one adds those who say they have their “own religion” (superstitious beliefs).  This indicates that potential church membership exists; the barrier appears to exist in the Church as an institution.

I should add here that in the field of education religion is offered as an elective subject in Estonia’s school system since the fall of 2011.  And in the spring of that year, the Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre organized a seminar at Tallinn University, examining three major religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – from a woman’s perspective.  The seminar was presented as a contribution toward public awareness about religion as a topic for study. 

The guidelines for this seminar recognize that it is “difficult for the Church to reach people, to reconnect with them, to show empathy and understanding with their issues and everyday struggles.”  Steps are being taken.  For example, in January of this year the Council of Estonian Churches issued the book Astu alla rahva hulka (“Come down to be among the people”) which addresses some of these concerns.  Also, there is considerable opinion that the Church should use contemporary means of communication for spreading her message.

According to some members of the clergy, in many cases people’s perception of them is influenced by stereotypical thinking, hostility to religion, or that a religious person is somewhat strange.  A certain amount of distrust exists toward the Church due to her close association, in the opinion of many, with political figures whose activities have been or are suspect.  For example, in 2005 the Council of the Cathedral Church gave a St. Mary Medal to the politician Siim Kallas who has been accused of stealing 10 million US dollars when he headed the Bank of Estonia.  In relation to that, the legal counsel at the Bank was in an automobile accident that left him permanently disabled, and the accountant of a member bank was assassinated on the street in front of his home.  The money was never recovered. Later the Court did not find Kallas guilty due to lack of evidence.  It’s not clear why the Council awarded Kallas with the Medal.

But to get back to the concerns of the clergy.  Some also feel that the media does not give coverage of religious issues, except on those occasions when a real estate transaction or scandal is to be reported.  Members of the clergy are generally not invited to participate in public forums and discussions. However, ETV (public TV) and some radio stations carry good programs on religious topics, but they are not aired on prime time.

The Lutheran Church is in communication – could be considered a form of partnership – with fellow Church in Sweden, the one in northern Elbe, Germany, and as we see here today, with you from the State of Hesse, also (Wiesbaden).  Naturally, it communicates with the Church in Finland and the Baltic states.  The Anglican Church in England and the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in the US are also among her associates. 

The Church as an institution faces many challenges and, in this respect, it is not unlike the Republic of Estonia herself.  The Church drafted a developmental plan several years ago and has had to modify it from time to time.  In the field of education, the Church has to train pastors, not neglect theology, sacred music and liturgy.  The care and maintenance of the church buildings – most of them being old - is a financial challenge.  Among the clergy, debates between the conservative wing and the liberal wing are a constant happening. And as for the future, the sense by her leadership is that all of these challenges have to be approached professionally. 

Anne Kull suggested in her presentation Wednesday that there is a “need for a more self-confident, public and ecumenical role of Christian theology”.  My sense is that during these challenging times there is a need for the Church to be more self-confident and – yes, courageous.  As a political observer of Estonia’s situation, the need for an institution that defends and teaches ethical and moral values – such ordinary values as honesty, trust, fidelity are currently strangers in the land!  I ask myself, who in the country can speak up for those values?  I do not see any other institution on the landscape but a religious institution. 

In her history, the Lutheran Church certainly has giants who stood up against corruption and injustice – no doubt, the most celebrated is Martin Luther, but in more recent history the Church has Martin Niemüller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who dealt with the problem of evil – and the contemporary Church in Estonia could bear witness, as did these men, in order to arrest the deteriorating socio-political situation that is putting this small nation at risk. 

I would like to conclude with a positive note – and by that I mean a musical note!  Namely, among the Lutheran Church’s giants is the world’s greatest composer, Johann Sebastian Bach.  Luther laid the theological foundations for the Church, Bach wrote the music (of course, it was after Luther had written “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”).  Estonia’s strong choral tradition has its origins in the Church.  In other words, “The Singing Revolution” which took place here and is well known, has its roots in the local churches.  I have suggested to some key people in the Church to “turn up the volume on Bach”, as it were, because Estonians are music lovers and Bach, an orthodox Lutheran, could be one of the means to “connect” with the people.