On April 16–18, 2026, the 17th ISORECEA (International Study of Religion in Central and Eastern Europe Association) conference “(De-)Institutionalisation of Religious Life in Times of Geopolitical Turbulence” was held in Bratislava, Slovakia, and brought together around 100 participants. The Latvian research community was represented by scholars from the IHSS.

Representing Daugavpils University, professor and leading researcher Dr. Theol. Anita Stašulāne delivered a presentation “Deconversion from (neo)paganism: Case of Dievturi in Latvia”. In her talk, she analysed data from a field study conducted among Dievturi groups in Latvia.

Researcher and assistant professor PhD Maija Grizāne presented a paper titled “Atheistic Indoctrination in the Educational System of Soviet Latvia (1960s–1980s)” in the section “Religious Socialisation and Worldview Formation in Educational Contexts.” The paper examined changes in the education system within the framework of the Sovietization process and was co-authored by professor Dr. Hist. Irēna Saleniece.

A. Stašulāne participated in the conference within the DU research project “Inter-disciplinarity and Diversity in the Contemporary Research in Humanities II” (No. 14-95/2026/11).

The dissemination of the research results of Maija Grizāne and Irēna Saleniece at the conference took place within the framework of the project “Latvian History of the 20th–21st Century: Social Morphogenesis, Heritage and Challenges” (No. VPP-IZM-Vēsture-2023/1-0003).

Additional information:
IHSS acting director, professor and leading researcher Anita Stašulāne
e-pasts: anita.stasulane@du.lv