Lithuania - December 2024

On 12 December, Parliament voted to officially recognize Romuva, a pagan religious association. The status of a state-recognized religious association gives the right for Romuva ministers to perform religious marriages with the same effect as civil marriages, the right to broadcast its religious services, the right to provide religious education in schools, as well as an exemption from the payment of land tax. Similar legislation had failed to pass Parliament on several occasions, most recently in 2023. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the Parliament’s previous refusal to recognize the association violated Romuva rights, and concluded that the MPs who voted against state recognition had failed to remain neutral and impartial in the exercise of their powers. There are around 3,917 Lithuanians identifying as Romuva according to the 2021 national census.

Sources: Seimas, LRT, ECHR (1), ECHR (2), Romuva, International Journal for Religious Freedom