Study title

Gallup Ecclesiastica 1995

Dataset ID Number

FSD1125

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1125

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Church Research Institute

Abstract

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.

Keywords

beliefs; church; parishes; religion; religious attendance; religious behaviour; religious beliefs; religious discrimination

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Humanities (Fields of Science Classification)
• Religion and values (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Gallup Ecclesiastica

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Church Research Institute

Time Period Covered

1995 – 1996

Collection Dates

1995-12-01 – 1996-01-03

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Population of Finland aged 15 or over (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

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.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

102 variables and 975 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The variables identifying the respondent's postal code or municipality of residence have been removed.

Weighting

There are two weights according to sex, age, type of municipality and province.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Church Research Institute: Gallup Ecclesiastica 1995 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-08-14). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD1125

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Mikä messu! Näkökulmia uudistuvaan jumalanpalvelukseen (1996). Toim. Salonen, Kari. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus, sarja A; 67.

Monikasvoinen kirkko. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2004-2007 (2008). Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja; 103. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus.

Rautio, Elina (2007). Tampereen evankelisluterilaisen seurakuntayhtymän tuottamien radio-ohjelmien kuuntelututkimus: tarkastelussa Radio Moreenissa lähetettävät Jumalanpalvelus, Kirkkokahveella ja Hengellisen musiikin toivekonsertti. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Tiedotusopin pro gradu -tutkielma.

Kääriäinen, Kimmo & Niemelä, Kati & Ketola, Kimmo (2005). Religion in Finland: Decline, Change and Transformation of Finnish Religiosity. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. Publication of the Research Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland; 54.

Kääriäinen, Kimmo & Kati Niemelä & Kimmo Ketola (2003). Moderni kirkkokansa. Suomalaisten uskonnollisuus uudella vuosituhannella. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja; 82.

Heino, Harri & Salonen, Kari & Rusama, Jaakko & Ahonen, Risto (1996). Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 1992-1995. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus.

Taira, Teemu (2012). More Visible But Limited in Its Popularity. Atheism (and Atheists) in Finland. Approaching Religion. Special Issues on the New Visibility of Atheism in Europe 2(1): 21-35.

Wikman, Noora (2011). Kirkossa pelkän perinteen vuoksi? Tutkimus kirkon jäsenyyteen sitoutuneista. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. Uskonto- ja kirkkososiologian pro gradu -tutkielma

Taira, Teemu (2014) Väärin uskottu? Ateismin uusi näkyvyys. Turku: Eetos.

Skoog, Emiliana (2018). Paholainen pappien keskuudessa. Tutkimus seitsemän seurakuntapapin pahuuskäsityksistä. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. Uskontotieteen pro gradu -tutkielma.

Karhu, Juha (2020). Rukoilun merkityksestä juutalaisuudessa: Pro gradu -kyselytutkimus Suomen juutalaisten rukoilemiseen liittyvistä käsityksistä. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. Lähi-idän tutkimuksen pro gradu -tutkielma. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:hulib-202012155200.

Taira, Teemu; Ketola, Kimmo & Sohlberg, Jussi (2022). Normalization of Nonreligious Identity in Finland. Journal of Contemporary Religion, doi:10.1080/13537903.2022.2138020

Ketola, Kimmo & Sohlberg, Jussi. 2022. Ketkä näkevät enkeleitä? Suomalaisten yliluonnolliset kokemukset ja enkeliusko kyselytutkimusten valossa. Teoksessa: Minna Opas & Tiina Mahlamäki (toim.), Uushenkisyys, 94-117. (Tietolipas 275) Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura.