European Congress of Ethnic Religions

The European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER) is an organisation for cooperation among associations that promote the ethnic religions of Europe.[1] The primary goal of the ECER is the strengthening of pre-Christian religious traditions of Europe, emphasizing and fostering their ties with Neopagan movements.

European Congress of Ethnic Religions
Formation1998
FounderJonas Trinkūnas
TypeModern Paganism
Location
Membership
11 organisations (2014)
President
Andras Corban-Arthen
Websitehttp://ecer-org.eu

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.[2]

The organization's name was the result of a day-long passionate debate.[3] The words "pagan" and "heathen" were rejected because of their perceived cultural associations with immorality, violence and backwardness. The word "polytheistic" was also rejected as an oversimplification.[4] "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.[2] 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.[4] The word's history and the connection to ethnology were things that appealed to the majority of the participants.[2]

To avoid misunderstandings, the founding declaration of the organization makes clear that ethnic here does not refer to ethnic politics.[4] The founding member Denis Dornoy also clarified this in the organization's newsletter The Oaks in 1999:

Is ethnic connected with ethnic cleansing? Is it another pure race ideology? Do you have to belong to a long-lost people to be ethnic? Isn't ethnic a subject for white-haired academics? Ethnic is none of the above, and its meaning is far simpler. Ethnos is Greek, meaning people, and ethnic means related to a particular people, i.e., anything that defines a people: its language, customs, daily behaviour, food ... or spiritual outlook. We call this last point ethnic religion. It is a set of traditions, worship, way of life, related to a people. It often, but not always, involves ancestor worship. Sometimes it is so integrated into everyday life that it cannot even be called "religion" (i.e., belief) according to Western standards.[5]

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.[3] 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."[1]

The current president of the organization is Andras Corban-Arthen.

Member organizations represent Baltic, Slavic, Germanic, Greek, and Roman traditions. As of 2014 the member organizations of ECER are:

  • Dávný obyčej,[6] Czech Republic
  • Forn Siðr, The Aesir and Vanir faith community in Denmark,[7] founding member
  • Lithuanian Baltic religion Romuva,[8] founding member
  • Rodzima Wiara, Poland, founding member
  • Slovenski Staroverci, Slovenia
  • Society of the Ukrainian Native Faith “Pravoslavya” Kyiv, Ukraine
  • Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (Ypato Symboulio Ellinon Ethnikon – YSEE), Greece,[9] founding member
  • Movimento Tradizionale Romano, Italy
  • Societas Hesperiana Pro Culto Deorum, Italy
  • The Asatrufellowship, Denmark
  • Werkgroep Hagal,[10] formerly Werkgroep Traditie, founding member, Belgium
  • Associazione Tradizionale Pietas, Italy

Former members:

Chronology of the congresses
Year Location Theme/Notes[1]
1998 Vilnius, Lithuania
1999 Telsiai, Lithuania
2000 Bradesiai, Lithuania
2001 Vilnius, Lithuania with delegates from the Vishva Hindu Parishad
2002 Vilnius, Lithuania
2003 Vilnius, Lithuania "Global Initiatives for Ethnic Cultures and Religions"
2004 Athens, Greece "The High Values Of The Pre-Christian Ethnic Traditions and Religions"
2005 Antwerp, Flanders "Spirituality and Tradition in an Anti-Traditional World"
2006 Jaipur, India "Spirituality Beyond Religions"
in cooperation with the International Centre of Cultural Studies and the
World Congress of Elders of Ancient Cultures and Traditions
2007 Riga-Jūrmala-Sigulda, Latvia "The Spirit Will See New Light in the Turn of Ages"
2008 Poznań-Głogów, Poland
2009 Nagpur, India
2010 Bologna, Italy "Ethics in Contemporary World"
2012 Odense, Denmark “What can Ethnic religions do for Europe – and what can Europe do for the Ethnic religions”
2014 Vilnius, Lithuania
2016 Prague, Czech Republic
2018 Rome, Italy
gollark: The IRC bridge bot will be needed.
gollark: ++apioform
gollark: ++apioform
gollark: ++apioform
gollark: ++apioform

References

Notes
  1. About ECER.
  2. Strmiska, 2005 p. 14
  3. Strmiska, 2005 p. 276
  4. Elst, 2015 pp. 86-87
  5. Strmiska, 2005 p. 15
  6. http://davnyobycej.cz/ davnyobycej.cz
  7. http://www.fornsidr.dk/ fornsidr.dk
  8. http://www.romuva.lt
  9. http://www.ysee.gr/
  10. http://www.traditie.be

Sources
  • Koenraad Elst. Return of the Swastika: Hate and Hysteria versus Hindu Sanity, 2015. ISBN 978-1-910524-18-3
  • Michael Strmiska, Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, 2005
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.