Estonian native religion The Estonian native religion (
Estonian:
Maausk, literally "Native Religion" or "Land's Faith"), or Estonian Neopaganism, is the name, in
English, for a grouping of contemporary revivals (often called "Neopagan", although adherents of Estonian native religion generally don't use the term) of the indigenous
religion of the
Estonian people. It encompasses "Taaraism" (
Estonian:
Taarausk literally "Taara Faith"), a
monistic religion centered on god
Tharapita founded in 1928 by intellectuals as a national religion; and
Maausk Finnish native religion , a Finnish Pagan symbol. The Finnish native religion (: "Finnish Faith"), or Finnish Neopaganism, is the contemporary Neopagan revival of
Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian
polytheistic ethnic religion of the
Finns. A precursor movement was the
Ukkousko ("Ukko Faith", revolving around the god
Ukko) of the early 20th century. The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and very little is left. The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable. The national epic is the
Kalevala. There are two main organisations of the religion, the "Association of Finnish Native Religion" (
Suomalaisen kansanuskon yhdistys ry) based in
Helsinki and officially registered since 2002, (120 members in 2008) and the "Taivaannaula" association (around a dozen members in 2008) headquartered in
Turku with branches in many cities, founded and officially registered in 2007. The Association of Finnish Native Religion also caters to
Karelians Hungarian native religion es symbolise the
tree of life in Hungarian Native Faith. The
Hungarian Native Faith (
Hungarian:
Ősmagyar Vallás), also termed
Hungarian Neopaganism, is a
modern Pagan new religious movement aimed at representing an
ethnic religion of the
Hungarians, inspired by
taltosism (Hungarian shamanism),
ancient mythology and
later folklore. The Hungarian Native Faith movement has roots in 18th- and 19th-century
Enlightenment and
Romantic elaborations, and early-20th-century ethnology. The construction of a national Hungarian religion was endorsed in interwar
Turanist circles (1930s–1940s), and, eventually, Hungarian Native Faith movements blossomed in
Hungary after the fall of the
Soviet Union. The boundaries between Hungarian Native Faith groups are often traced along their differing ideas about the
ethnogenetic origins of the Hungarians, which have historically been a matter of debate. Many organisations acknowledge the linguistic connection of Hungarians with speakers of other
Finno-Ugric languages. Other Hungarian Native Faith groups, however, cultivate further links with
Scythian,
Sumerian,
Turkic and other cultures.
Mari religion The Mari religion (
Mari: Чимарий йӱла,
Čimarij jüla), also called Mari paganism, is the ethnic religion of the
Mari people, a
Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the
republic of
Mari El, in
Russia. Mari religion has been practiced predates
Christianization attempts, and hence is not itself an example of neopaganism; however it has neopagan revivalist adherents, such as the
Kugu sorta. The Mari religion is based on the worship of the forces of nature, which man must honour and respect. Before the spread of
monotheistic teachings amongst the Mari, they worshipped many gods (the
jumo, a word cognate to the
Finnish Jumala), while recognising the primacy of a "Great God",
Kugu Jumo. In the 19th century, influenced by monotheism, the pagan beliefs altered and the image of an
Osh Kugu Jumo, literally "Great God of Light", was strengthened. Subject to persecution in the
Soviet Union, the faith has been granted official status since the 1990s by the government of Mari El, where it is recognized as one of the three traditional faiths along with Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Some activists claim that the Mari native religion believers are subject to pressure by Russian authorities as part of a wider campaign to
Russify Mari culture.
Vitaly Tanakov, an adherent of the faith, was charged with
inciting religious, national, social and linguistic hatred after publishing the book
The Priest Speaks.
Mordvin native religion , the Mordvin national worship ceremony. The Mordvin native religion, also called Erzyan native religion, or Mordvin-Erzyan Neopaganism, is the modern revival of the ethnic religion of the
Mordvins (
Erzya and
Moksha), peoples of
Volga Finnic ethnic stock dwelling in their
republic of
Mordovia within
Russia, or in bordering
lands of Russia. The name of the originating god according to the Mordvin tradition is Ineshkipaz. The
Mordvins were almost fully
Christianised since the times of
Kievan Rus', although Pagan customs were preserved in the
folklore and few villages preserved utterly the native faith at least until further missionary activities of the
Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century and in the early 20th century. The Neopagan revival was started in 1990, alongside that of many other native religions in Russia, just in the verge of dissolution of the
Soviet Union. According to scholar
Victor Schnirelmann 2% of the Mordvins adhere to the Mordvin native faith. Adherents of the
Erzyan Mastor organisation organise the
Ras'ken' Ozks (Mordvin for: "Native Prayer"), a national Mordvin worship service held yearly, with participation also of members of the
Mastorava organisation and other ones.
Udmurt Vosh Udmurt Vosh (
Udmurt: Удмурт Вось, literally "Udmurt Faith") is the ethnic religious revival of the
Udmurts, a
Volga Finnic ethnic group mostly inhabiting their
republic within
Russia, that is
Udmurtia. Amongst the Udmurts, as in other Finnic republics in the Volga region, the revival of Paganism is inextricably intertwined with the revival of national-ethnic culture and awareness. The Udmurtian Pagan revival circles sprang out of the
Demen (Udmurt for "Society") movement which was established in December 1989 for the protection and restoration of the Udmurt ethnic culture. According to 2012 statistics, 2% of the population of
Udmurtia adheres to forms of Paganism.
Victor Schnirelmann reported an adherence of 4% for the Udmurts alone. ==The Uralic Communion==