The survey series, produced by the Church Research Institute, studies the religiosity and beliefs of continental Finns, and their relationship to the Evangelical Lutheran Chruch of Finland and other religious communities. Themes studied include supernatural phenomena, spirituality and morality, and the importance of different parish activities. The survey data have been collected as part of a separate, cross-national RISC Monitor study. The surveys are carried out by MDC RISC International and Gallup Finland (TNS Gallup, Kantar). FSD collections cover data for 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2007.
The survey focused on Finnish perceptions of sin and supernatural phenomena. First, the respondents were asked whether they belonged to a church or other religious denomination, whether they believed in God, and how often they attended church services. Moral concepts and moral values were studied by asking the respondents whether certain actions were morally wrong or not: use of alcohol, smoking, use of illegal drugs, lying, envying others, stealing, killing, tax fraud, extramarital sex, homosexual sex, use of contraceptives, abortion, divorce, etc. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to UFOs, alternative medicine, astrology, reincarnation, fortune-telling, spiritual growth, and meditation.
Background variables included the respondent's gender, age group, education, type of neighbourhood, and province of residence.
Starting point method. The data were collected as part of the RISC Monitor survey in 2002. The sample size was approximately 2,500.