THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN CHANGE PERSPECTIVES FROM FINLAND ACCORDING TO RECENT DEBATE

• Authors: Kuivala Petra
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The author of the article presents the current situation of Lutheran Church in Finland. The text contains three main claims which show the religious life of the Fins. The first one concerns religious adherence and activity. It is shown that about 80% Finish people identify with the Lutheran Church, but only 45% of them declare as believing in accordance with the tenets of Christianity. The second part of the paper raises the subject of the current challenges and difficulties. It describes problems with the regulation of women (legalized since 1986), differences in reading and interpretation of the Bible, and it presents a piece of the discussion on homosexuality. In fact, one of the main problems is the lack of unity inside the Finish Church. There are ten equal bishops in the country and they do not have the same view on principal issues, which causes confusion and a suspense among the faithful. What is more, different religious groups propose various interpretations of the Bible, due to which people can't be sure of their meaning and understanding of God's Words. Another very important point of discussion inside the Finish Church is also the attitude towards homosexuality. Even if the Lutheran Church is negative about homosexual marriages, a presence and a prayer of a priest is admitted during such ceremonies. This brings about further questions about unanimity and the boundaries of tolerance. The significant aim of the article is a research of Church credibility too. At the end, the author's conclusion is the statement of advanced segmentation of the Lutheran Church in Finland. It is highly recommended to outline new directions of growth and to make proper decisions in official public policy.

Keywords

EN

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT; MEMBERSHIP; RECENT CONTROVERSIES AND DEBATE; RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY; SECULARISM; SPIRITUALITY; THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF FINLAND

Discipline

• THEOLOGY: THEOLOGY

• Publisher: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Wydział Teologii
• Journal: Roczniki Teologii Fundamentalnej i Religiologii (Annals of Fundamental Theology and Religiology)
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 3(58)
• Pages: 99-115
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Kuivala Petra

• Kuivala Petra, University of Helsinki, Mäkelänkatu 13 B31, 00550 Helsinki, Finland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA103815