Whom to Pray To: Over 1270 Religious Organizations Registered in Latvia 0 8

The largest number is Lutheran, with 294 organizations, followed by 290 Catholic religious organizations. There are also 149 Orthodox religious organizations registered in Latvia.

Latvia also has religious organizations of other denominations. Among them are four Buddhist, 14 pagan, two Hindu, 11 Islamic, one Sikh, and others.

The law on religious organizations stipulates that such organizations and their institutions are registered in the register of religious organizations and their institutions, which is maintained by the Enterprise Register. The register also includes information about the confessional affiliation of the religious organization.

Before registering a religious organization or its institution, the Enterprise Registrar requests an opinion from the Ministry of Justice on the compliance of the goals and objectives stated in the charter of the organization or its institution with regulatory acts, as well as whether the activities of the religious organization (teaching) may threaten human rights, the democratic state structure, state security, public safety or order, welfare, and morality.