In the context of Baltic religion, the designation "modern movements" refers to different movements in the Baltic lands, organized or unorganized, aiming at a revival or restoration of the autochthonous pre-Christian religions, as well as at a fusion of these religions with esoteric, metaphysical, theosophical, astrological, or environmentalist teachings and practices. The polysemantic term Baltic is used here as an ethnic denominator, with the modern Balts—Lithuanians and Latvians—as the primary focus, but with some attention paid also to Prussians and other Baltic-related groups.

Literary and Symbolic Constructions of Baltic Paganism

Among Baltic peoples, ideas about "genuine, inherited, local, natural" religion as opposed to "borrowed, superimposed, alien, artificial" Christianity were formulated in the second half of the nineteenth century, during the period of gradual transition from patriarchal to modern society soon after the abolishment of serfdom. This concept of natural, local religion was...