Study title

Gallup Ecclesiastica 2003

Dataset ID Number

FSD2258

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2258

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Church Research Institute

Abstract

The survey contained questions about church and religion. The respondents were asked whether they were members of a church or other religious community, and whether they were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. They were asked to estimate how significant the various reasons for being a member of the church were to them, and whether they had ever thought about resigning from it. Those who were not members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church were asked whether they had ever thought about joining it. The respondents were also asked to present their views on the Evangelical Lutheran Church with the help of a number of opposite adjective pairs (e.g. honest - dishonest, rich - poor, reliable - unreliable, tolerant - intolerant, efficient - inefficient).

Furthermore, the respondents were asked how often they participated in various congregational activities, such as church services, communion, church concerts or other religious meetings, and how often they prayed, read the Bible or the New Testament, watched religious programmes on television, or listened to them in the radio. Views were also probed on the afterlife, the existence of God, the creation of the world, and Jesus' status as the Son of God.

The respondents were presented with a list of duties belonging to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church and its congregations, and asked to estimate how well they had fulfilled these obligations. Opinions were also charted on different religions and religious denominations, religious upbringing, Jesus, the Bible, the ordination of women, and the liturgical reform in Finland.

Background variables included respondent's age, gender, education, occupational group, income group, province of residence, and type of municipality.

Keywords

bereavement; bible; christianity; church; congregations; immortality; membership; ordination of women; religion; religious attendance; religious beliefs; religious communities; religious doctrines; religious groups

Topic Classification

• Humanities (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social sciences (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

• TNS Gallup Finland

Data Producers

• Church Research Institute

Time Period Covered

2003

Collection Dates

2003

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish population 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: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI)

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

146 variables and 1009 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables indicating municipality and postcode have been removed from the data.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

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 2003 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-25). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2258

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 Materials

Hytönen, Maarit & Kääriäinen, Kimmo & Niemelä, Kati & Salonen, Kari (2004). Kirkko muutosten keskellä. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2000 - 2003. Jyväskylä : Gummerus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja; 89.

Related Publications

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

Saukko, Anu Emilia (2009). Auttamisen hinta. Uskonnollisten järjestöjen rahankeruu ja suomalainen hyväntekeväisyys 2000-luvun alussa. Kuopio: Kuopion yliopisto. Sosiologian pro gradu -tutkielma.

Niemelä, Kati (2006). Vieraantunut vai pettynyt? Kirkosta eroamisen syyt Suomen evankelis-luterilaisessa kirkossa. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja; 95.

Ketola, Kimmo (2010). Uskontotilanteen muutos ja suomalaisten suhtautuminen eri uskontoihin. Teoksessa: Religionens återkomst. Brytningspunkter i kyrkan, religionen och kulturen - Uskonnon ylösnousemus. Kirkon uskonnon ja kulttuurin murros (toim. Tuomas Martikainen & Ville Jalovaara), 40-51. Magma-studie 4/2010. Helsinki: Finlands svenska tankesmedja Magma.

Hytönen, Maarit & Kääriäinen, Kimmo & Niemelä, Kati & Salonen, Kari (2004). Kirkko muutosten keskellä. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2000 - 2003. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja; 89.

Brenner, Philip S (2011). Exceptional Behavior or Exceptional Identity? Overreporting of Church Attendance in the U.S. Public Opinion Quarterly 75,19-41. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfq068

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.

Haastettu kirkko. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2008-2011 (2012). Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja 115. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus

Ketola, Kimmo, Hytönen, Maarit, Salminen, Veli-Matti, Sohlberg, Jussi & Sorsa, Leena (2016) Osallistuva luterilaisuus. Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2012-2015: Tutkimus kirkosta ja suomalaisista. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja 125. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus.

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