Historical survey

Christian influences from both East and West reached Finland around the year 1000. Missionary efforts on the part of the Western church were, however, stronger, and by the beginning of the 14th century most of Finland was under the Roman Catholic Church and Swedish rule. The Catholic Church brought European civilisation to Finland. It united dispersed tribes into a single nation and provided an advanced system of administration. Eastern parts of Finland remained predominantly Greek Orthodox.

updated by Kimmo Ketola

D 25 May 2017    AKimmo Kääriäinen

The Protestant reformation reached Sweden and Finland (as a part of Swedish kingdom) in the 1520s. Sweden accepted the Confession of Augsburg at Uppsala in 1593. Lutheranism became the state religion. It guaranteed the unity of the realm and tolerated no deviation. The Reformation severed all ties with Rome. The supremacy of the Pope was replaced by that of the King of Sweden, who stripped the Church of its income and property. Mikael Agricola, the first Lutheran Bishop of Finland, translated the New Testament into Finnish. Church services gradually became more Lutheran and were conducted in the vernacular. The monasteries were closed, and priests allowed to marry.
In the period of Lutheran orthodoxy, in the 17th and early 18th centuries, the Church had a similar cultural monopoly to that of the Middle Ages. It preached loyalty to the state, instilled a strong sense of Christian morality in the people, and taught the Finns to read.

Updated by Kimmo Ketola

D 25 May 2017    AKimmo Kääriäinen

Russia ended Swedish rule over Finland by conquering it in 1809, so Finland became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Although the ruler was then the Orthodox Tsar rather than a Lutheran king, the Lutheran Church remained the state church of Finland. Orthodox were a small religious minority. However, they enjoyed special protection by the Russian Tsar because they confessed the faith of the ruler. The position of the Orthodox Church was governed by the statutes of the Tsar and the Finns couldn´t have influence on that. When the "Old Finland", i.e. the Vyborg area, was made part of Finland in 1812, the number of Orthodox increased from three thousand to about 30.000.
The Ecclesiastical Act of 1869 loosened the bonds between the Lutheran Church and the state, and increased the independence of the Church. The supreme decision-making body of the Church, the Synod, was founded.

Updated by Kimmo Ketola

D 25 May 2017    AKimmo Kääriäinen

Pietism, with its emphasis on individual conversion and personal spirituality, and its appeal to the emotions, gained foothold at the beginning of the 18th century. From this background, the traditional revivalist movements emerged at the beginning of the 19th century. They have remained typical features of Finnish religious life until the present day and have usually stayed within the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Large revival movements include the Prayer Movement, the Awakening Movement, the Finnish Evangelical Movement and the Laestadian Movement. Some of these movements are specifically local, others find support in the entire country.
Relations between the Church and revival movements have traditionally been fairly good but in the past few years differences have emerged, mainly concerning the status of women (as pastors) in the movements and the debate on homosexuality. Most revivalist movements find the Church´s attitude too liberal on both questions. Some pastors refused to collaborate with female pastors, which led to litigation. In the majority of the revival movements, attitudes towards homosexuality have not changed much as opposed to the attitudes of the public. This has led to a situation, where some parish unions stopped giving financial support to mission organizations who have a rejecting attitude toward homosexuality.

D 25 May 2017    AKimmo Ketola

In 1917, Russia plunged into the chaos of the Revolution: Finland seized the opportunity on December 6, 1917, and Parliament approved the declaration of independence.

Freedom of religion was guaranteed in 1923. The Freedom of Religion Act (passed in 1922, came into effect in 1923) granted citizens the right to freely found religious denominations and to belong to them, or to remain entirely without religious affiliation.

The Winter War against the Soviet Union (1939–1940) was characterised as a struggle for the defence of "home, faith and fatherland". The will to defend one’s country had religious overtones.

The administrative and financial independence of the Lutheran Church increased during the Second World War. After the war, the Church took on new tasks, for example family counselling. Church social work (diaconia) expanded rapidly, as did youth work. The state and local authorities have taken over some of the functions that formerly belonged to the Church. In the mid-sixties, Finnish culture was shaken by migration from rural to urban areas, emigration, growing influence from abroad and the pluralistic image of the world conveyed by television. This trend has continued to present days with the increasing immigration to Finland and growing secularization of the populace.

The new Freedom of Religion Act came into effect in August 2003.

Updated by Kimmo Ketola

D 25 May 2017    AKimmo Kääriäinen