March 1, 2018 – Please pray for Estonia
Estonia is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with Finland on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipusand Russia. Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea.
Estonia is situated in the northern part of the temperate climate zone and in the transition zone between maritime and continental climate. Estonia has four seasons of near-equal length.
Located in the northern temperate zone, snow cover, which is deepest in the south-eastern part of Estonia, usually lasts from mid-December to late March. Estonia has over 1,400 lakes. Most are very small. Estonia has numerous fens and bogs. Forest land covers 50% of Estonia.
The population of Estonia is approximately 1.3 million.
Estonia was Christianized by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. During the Reformation, Protestantism spread, and the Lutheran church was officially established in Estonia in 1686. Before the Second World War, Estonia was approximately 80% Protestant; overwhelmingly Lutheran. Many Estonians profess not to be particularly religious, because religion through the 19th century was associated with German feudal rule.
Today, Estonia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and individual rights to privacy of belief and religion. According to the Dentsu Communication Institute Inc, Estonia is one of the least religious countries in the world, with 75.7% of the population claiming to be irreligious.
New polls about religiosity in the European Union in 2012 by Eurobarometer found that Christianity is the largest religion in Estonia accounting for 45% of Estonians. Eastern Orthodox are the largest Christian group in Estonia, accounting for 17% of Estonia citizens, while Protestants make up 6%, and other Christian make up 22%. Non believer/Agnostic account 22%, Atheist accounts for 15%, and undeclared accounts for 15%.
The most recent Pew Research Center, found that in 2015, 51% of the population of Estonia declared itself Christians, 45% religiously unaffiliated – category which includes atheists, agnostics and those who describe their religion as “Nothing in Particular”, while 2% belonged to other faiths. The Christians divided between 25% Eastern Orthodox, 20% Lutherans, 5% other Christians and 1% Roman Catholic. While the religiously unaffiliated divided between 9% as atheists, 1% as agnostics and 35% claimed no religion.
The largest religious denomination in the country is Lutheran. Another major group of the inhabitants follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
The above are from en.wikipedia.org. These statements have not been fact-checked and are only used here to help us gain a better understanding of this nation.
As we see above, the reports don’t always accurately reflect the religious beliefs of a nation. All we are obligated to do is to pray for humanity. We should commit a portion of our prayer life to this task.
1. Pray for the Gospel to penetrate the hearts of the people of Estonia.
2. Pray for the Church to be strong and multiply with mature believers.
3. Pray for favor and open doors for those who carry the message of the Gospel to this nation.
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