Re-emerging Religiosity: The Mainstreaming of New Spirituality in Estonia Marko Uibu Published in the Journal of Baltic Studies, DOI:10.1080/01629778.2015.1113432 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01629778.2015.1113432 Abstract Due to historical and cultural factors, Estonia is the country that places the least importance on religion, according to several surveys taken Europe-wide and worldwide. However, this does not mean that scientific materialism predominates in Estonia. Instead, many people believe in the supernatural and are increasingly interested in the emerging forms of new spiritualities. Based on the results of quantitative and qualitative studies, this article identifies indicators of the changing understandings about spiritual-alternative ideas and practices in Estonia and analyzes the tactics spiritual practitioners use to legitimize their worldviews. The Estonian situation, in which fuzzLJ spiƌitualitLJ is the most common form of religiosity, challenges researchers to find new methods and theoretical approaches to study religions. Key Words: Estonia, religion in post-Soviet countries, new spirituality, New Age, spiritual revolution, contemporary religiosity, mainstreaming spirituality 1. Introduction Estonia can be, and often is, seen as a prime example of a Western secularism that implies the inevitable decline of religions and religiosity. Indeed, in the 2011 national census, only 16.4% of Estonians defined themselves as religiously affiliated, and only 11.8% belonged to the historically dominant Lutheran Church (Statistics Estonia 2013). 1 Several comparative questionnaires indicate that Estonia places the least importance on religion of any country in Europe, and possibly in the world. 2 According to CasaŶoǀas ;ϮϬϬϲͿ criteria of secularization, Estonia is a very secular country: secular matters are clearly separated from religious matters, religious beliefs and practices have declined, and religion has been confined to the private sphere. A closer observation of Estonians beliefs and practices reveals forms of religiosity beyond the traditional understandings of religion, thereby bringing into question the claims of secularization. There is no consensus among scholars on whether or to what extent secularization should imply the diminishing of religious-mystical sources in peoples understandings about the world. Should the decline of the importance of religions lead towards non-religiosity, religious indifference, atheism, and/or materialism? Estonian questionnaires demonstrate that a scientific-materialist worldview is not as dominant as one would expect. For example, in 2010 only 10.9% of respondents completely rejected the premise of astrology— that the stars and planets influence people at the moment of their birth ;JƁks ϮϬϭϮ, 294). The