Dievturība Dievturība (
Latvian compound derived from
Dievs "God", plus
turēt "hold", "uphold", "behold", "keep"; literally "Godkeeping") is a
Latvian Pagan revival, also present among
Latvian Canadian and
Latvian American expatriate communities. It is characterised by a
monistic theological approach to
Baltic paganism viewing all the gods and all nature as expression of the
Dievs. A common view is that the Dievs is at the same time the
transcendent fountain of reality, the matter-energy substrate, and the law ordaining the universe. After the annexation of Latvia to the
Soviet Union the Dievturi were repressed, but the movement continued to operate among exiles. Since the 1990s, Dievturi was re-introduced to Latvia and began to grow again; in 2011 there were about 663 official members. The
Lokstene Shrine of Dievturi was inaugurated in 2017.
Romuva Romuva is a modern revival of the traditional ethnic religion of the
Baltic peoples, reviving the religious practices of the
Lithuanians before
their Christianization. Romuva claims to continue living
Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore and customs. Romuva exists primarily in Lithuania but there are also congregations of adherents in
Australia,
Canada, the
United States, and
England. There are also Romuviai in
Norway. Practising the Romuva faith is seen by many adherents as a form of cultural pride, along with celebrating traditional forms of art, retelling Baltic folklore, practising traditional holidays, playing traditional Baltic music, singing traditional
dainas or hymns and songs as well as ecological activism and stewarding sacred places.
Other The re-enactment group Vilkatlakai, originally named Baltuva, formed in Lithuania in 1995 and is distinguished by its masculine vision of Baltic paganism. The Kuronas movement formed in 2003 as a split from Romuva, expressing dissatisfaction with the Romuva leadership's emphasis on ethnographical studies at the expense of theology. They were also critical of Romuva's openness to the media and other outsiders at religious events. ==References==