ABSTRACT
According to the 2001 Census, a majority of the Lithuanian population is Roman Catholic (79 percent). The second biggest religious community is Russian Orthodox (4 percent). Moreover, 9.5 percent of the population declared that it did not belong to any religious community, and 5.3 percent made no declaration of any kind. Around 2 percent of the Lithuanian population belongs to various religious communities, including new religiousmovements.1 Various surveys during recent years reveal that the religious composition of Lithuania has not changed much in recent years.2
The passage of legal acts regulating religious issues began soon after the Republic of Lithuania gained its independence, most importantly with the adoption of the Constitution in 1992, although in the Law on Education the first changes related to religious education were made in 1991. These changes stated that in the public schools religion may be taught by persons authorized by their religious authorities under the requirement of parents/tutors. Such right (possibility) was guaranteed to all religious confessions.
