Slavic Native Faith (Elements in New Religious Movements)

Since the fall of communist systems across Central and Eastern Europe in the late twentieth century, Slavic Native Faith has matured as a religious movement across the region. This diverse movement is comprised of many local and national forms bearing a variety of names, including Rodnoverie and Ridnovirstvo. They all share a primary emphasis on Slavic identity and cherish nativeness as a sacred value. This Element examines who the adherents of Slavic Native Faith are and what they believe. It looks at why these groups continue to grow, evolve, and develop in the twenty-first century, with communities generally becoming more representative of the population at large. Increasingly they find themselves as significant participants in the societies they inhabit, still marginal and small, but visible in the arts and popular culture. Case studies from a dozen different nations demonstrate both differences and similarities within this expanding movement.