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==Historical Background== | ==Historical Background== | ||
According to the 2011 census, the predominant religion in Lithuania is Christianity, with the largest confession being that of the Catholic Church (about 77% of the population).[2] There are smaller groups of Orthodox Christians, Evangelical Lutherans, members of Reformed churches, other Protestants, Jews and Muslims as well as people of other religions. The first census in independent Lithuania, in 1923, established the fallowing religious distribution: Catholic — 85.7 per cent; Jews — 7.7 per cent; Protestant — 3.8 per cent; Greek Orthodox — 2.7 per cent.<ref> Wikipedia contributors, "Religion in Lithuania", in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Lithuania, accessed 22 April 2020. </ref><br> | According to the 2011 census, the predominant religion in Lithuania is Christianity, with the largest confession being that of the Catholic Church (about 77% of the population).[2] There are smaller groups of Orthodox Christians, Evangelical Lutherans, members of Reformed churches, other Protestants, Jews and Muslims as well as people of other religions. The first census in independent Lithuania, in 1923, established the fallowing religious distribution: Catholic — 85.7 per cent; Jews — 7.7 per cent; Protestant — 3.8 per cent; Greek Orthodox — 2.7 per cent. | ||
The '''Catholic Church''' has claimed the adherence of the majority of Lithuanians since the Christianization of Lithuania in the 14th and 15th centuries. Lithuania kept its Catholic identity under the Russian Empire and later under the Soviet Union when some Catholic priests led the resistance against the Communist regime, which is commemorated in the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai, a shrine to the anti-communist resistance. | |||
The center of '''Greek Catholic''' life in Lithuania is the Basilian Monastery and Church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius. In the past, the monastery was multiethnic but now serves a mostly Ukrainian community. | |||
Protestants are 0.8%, of which 0.6% are Lutheran and 0.2% are Reformed. According to Losch (1932), the Lutherans were 3.3% of the total population; they were mainly Germans in the Memel territory (now Klaipėda). There was also a tiny Reformed community (0.5%) which still persists. Protestantism has declined with the removal of the German population, and today it is mainly represented by ethnic Lithuanians throughout the northern and western parts of the country, as well as large urban areas. Believers and clergy suffered greatly during the Soviet occupation, with many killed, tortured or deported to Siberia. Newly arriving evangelical churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.<ref> Wikipedia contributors, "Religion in Lithuania", in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Lithuania, accessed 22 April 2020. </ref><br> | |||
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