The survey series, commissioned by the Church Research Institute, studies Finnish religiosity and values, participation in the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and relationship to the church. Data are collected every four years. FSD collections include data from the year 1995 onwards.
The survey focused on Finnish religious behaviour, beliefs and religious attendance, and the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The respondents were asked whether they were members of a church, and if they were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, they were asked whether they had ever thought about leaving the church. Furthermore, the respondents were asked how often they participated in various functions of the parish, such as church services, communion, church concerts, revival meetings, or parish field trips, and how often they prayed, read the bible/a Christian magazine, or followed religious programmes on television or in the radio. The respondents were also asked whether they believed in God, their opinions on the divine services reform and freedom of religion in Finland, and what they thought happens after death. The respondents were asked also to estimate how important the various reasons for being a member of the church are to them. The beliefs of the respondents were studied by asking them to assess a host of propositions concerning ghosts, witchcraft, prayer, faith healing, mediums, angels, UFOs, astrology, and soothsaying.
Furthermore, the respondents were asked whether they had been subjected to religious threats, demands, or sanctions, or had been discriminated against because of their religious convictions during the past year. The respondents were also asked who should take care of cemeteries in Finland in their opinion. In closing, the respondents were presented with a list of obligations belonging to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, and they were asked to estimate how well the church and parishes had fulfilled these obligations.
Background variables included the respondent's age, sex, education, professional group, income group, province of residence, and type of municipality of residence.
The sample was drawn in three stages. In the first stage, the number of subjects required by the survey was regionally divided by provinces. In the second stage, the number of subjects was further subdivided within each province by the type of municipality. Municipality type was determined in two different ways: city municipalities were divided into large and small cities according to their population size, and rural municipalities into three groups based on the occupational structure of the population. The survey municipalities were representatively selected on the basis of the forementioned strata. In the third stage, starting points (addresses) were selected in each municipality. The number of starting point was based on the population size. The interviews were conducted by using the random-walk method. Six interviews were made starting from each of the randomly selected starting points. In each household, one member corresponding to the age and gender eligibility criteria was chosen for the interview.