European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER) is an organisation for cooperation among associations that promote the ethnic religions of Europe.About ECER. The primary goal of the ECER is the strengthening of pre-Christian religious traditions of Europe, emphasizing and fostering their ties with modern pagan movements.
History A "World Pagan Congress" was hosted in June 1998 in Vilnius, Lithuania, organized by Jonas Trinkūnas of Romuva, a Lithuanian neopagan organization. It was attended by members from a number of neopagan organizations from Europe and North America, as well as observers from the academic field. At the meeting it was decided to make the congress an annual event and to form an organization around it.
The organization's name was the result of a day-long passionate debate. The words "pagan" and "heathen" were rejected because of their perceived cultural associations with immorality, violence and backwardness. "Indigenous" was seen as satisfactory on a linguistic level, but was voted down with regard to its established use by groups distinguished from European colonizers. Other suggestions were terms along the lines of "old religion" and "ancestral religion". "Ethnic", the Greek equivalent to the Latin paganus in early Christian sources, was eventually agreed on. The word's history and the connection to ethnology appealed to most participants.
To avoid misunderstandings, the founding declaration of the organization makes clear that ethnic here does not refer to ethnic politics. The founding member Denis Dornoy also clarified this in the organization's newsletter The Oaks in 1999:
The congress was held under the name "World Congress of Ethnic Religions" from 1999 to 2010. The 2006 and 2009 conferences were held in India, in the spirit of collaboration between Western Neopaganism and Hinduism. The intention of a worldwide scope was "more of a dream than reality", as the congress mostly consisted of representatives of neopagan movements in Europe. To reflect this, the organization was renamed "European Congress of Ethnic Religions" in 2010. The congress was an annual event until 2010, and has since then been held once every two years.
Members and leadership ECER's website defines the scope of the organization: "By Ethnic Religion, we mean religion, spirituality, and cosmology that is firmly grounded in a particular people's traditions. In our view, this does not include modern occult or ariosophic theories/ideologies, nor syncretic neo-religions."
Since 2023, the president of the ECER is Uģis Nastevičs.
Member organizations represent Baltic, Slavic, Germanic, Greek, and Roman traditions. As of 2023, the member organizations of the ECER were: Latvijas Dievturu sadraudze, Latvia Associazione Tradizionale Pietas — Pietas, Italy Groupe Druidique des Gaules, France Objednannia ridnoviriv Ukrajiny, Ukraine Związek Wyznaniowy Rodzima Wiara, Poland Senovės baltų religinė bendrija Romuva, Lithuania Sjamanistisk Forbund, Norway Slovanský kruh, Czech Republic Societas Hesperiana Pro Cultu Deorum, Italy Werkgroep Traditie Vzw, Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands Ýpato Symvoúlio ton Ellínon Ethnikón, Greece
Chronology of the congresses YearLocationTheme/Notes1998Vilnius, LithuaniaFoundation of the ECER1999Telšiai, Lithuanialaying down a structure and aims for the organisation2000Bradesiai, Lithuaniasolving administrational issues2001Vilnius, Lithuaniawith delegates from the Vishva Hindu Parishad2002Vilnius, Lithuania"the continuity of ethnic religions in the modern world"2003Vilnius, Lithuania"Global Initiatives for Ethnic Cultures and Religions"2004Athens, Greece"The High Values Of The Pre-Christian Ethnic Traditions and Religions"2005Antwerp, Flanders"Spirituality and Tradition in an Anti-Traditional World"2006Jaipur, India"Spirituality Beyond Religions"in cooperation with the International Centre of Cultural Studies and theWorld Congress of Elders of Ancient Cultures and Traditions2007Riga-Jūrmala-Sigulda, Latvia"The Spirit Will See New Light in the Turn of Ages"2008Poznań-Głogów, Poland"Ethnic Religions in Modern Europe"2009Nagpur, India"Renaissance of the Ancient Traditions: Challenges and Solutions"2010Bologna, Italy"Ethics in Contemporary World"2012Odense, Denmark"What can Ethnic religions do for Europe – and what can Europe do for the Ethnic religions"2014Vilnius, Lithuania"Mother Earth, Unite us"2016Prague, Czech RepublicWith the participation of Czech deputy Minister of Culture2018Rome, ItalyWith the Joint celebration of the Natale di Roma, a festival linked to the foundation of Rome2023Riga-Lokstene, Latvia"Rights in One's Native Land" with the adoption of the Rīga Declaration2025Athens, Greece"The Contribution of Ethnic Religions to the formation of European Identity" with the adoption of the Athens Declaration
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