Study title

Role of the Church in Collective Crises and Social Problems 2007

Dataset ID Number

FSD2589

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2589

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Kansanen, Eliisa (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)
• Karppanen, Eetu (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)

Abstract

The survey studied the role of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in collective crises and in civic society. The section covering the church role in crises focused on the Asian tsunami disaster in 2004. The section covering the role in Finnish society charted opinions on the impact of the church on social problems.

First, the respondents were asked to describe their views on the Evangelical Lutheran Church with a series of pairs of adjectives (reliable - unreliable, boring - interesting, powerless - powerful etc). They were also asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to the participation of the church in public discussion, role played by the church in society and whether the church should hold on to its traditional doctrines or adapt to the views of its members.

The respondents were asked how important they considered various actions the church took in connection with the Asian tsunami disaster to be. The actions mentioned included participation in the evacuation of Finns, giving emergency help to tsunami victims in situ, urging Finns to donate money for the reconstruction of the destroyed areas, priests giving support to relatives at the airport when the deceased were flown home, memorial services held for victims etc. Opinions were also charted on what the church should do in future crises, for instance, how important it is that the Church helps victims financially, gives people comfort through pastoral counselling, gives advice to schools how to handle crises, helps in evacuation, participates in crisis prevention, organises prayer events to fulfill people's spiritual needs etc.

Next, opinions were explored on the role played by the church in Finnish society. The respondents were asked whether the church gave support and answers to problems relating to family finances, poverty, family or working life, burn-out, unemployment, young people, social exclusion, environment etc. The respondents were asked how important it was the church strove to tackle certain problems and how likely it was that it would be able to lessen these problems. Problems mentioned were included misuse of alcohol or drugs, crime, exclusion, homelessness, poverty, mental problems, financial inequality, unemployment etc. Opinions were charted on whether the church should try to influence public debate and decision-making. Some questions focused on the best methods for the church to act.

Finally, the respondents were asked whether they believed in God, how often they attended religious services, whether they defined themselves as religious, non-religious or atheists, how often they prayed and how close they felt to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Background variable included the respondent's gender, year of birth, marital status, type of municipality, education, economic activity and occupational status and religious affiliation.

Keywords

church; disasters; hazards, accidents and disasters; religious attendance; religious beliefs; social problems

Topic Classification

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

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Kansanen, Eliisa (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)
• Karppanen, Eetu (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)

Data Producers

• Church Research Institute

Time Period Covered

2007

Collection Dates

2007-02-01 – 2007-04-01

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People living in Finland, aged 18-75 and having Finnish as their first language (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

A sample of 1,000 persons was drawn from the registers of the Population Register Centre.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

34.4

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: Finnish.

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

Data Version

2.0

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

Kansanen, Eliisa (University of Helsinki) & Karppanen, Eetu (University of Helsinki): Role of the Church in Collective Crises and Social Problems 2007 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-20). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2589

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

Kansanen, Eliisa (2007). Kirkon rooli yhteiskunnallisissa ongelmissa. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 14 [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Saatavissa: http://www.evl.fi/kkh/ktk/14_kansanen.pdf [viitattu 28.1.2011].

Karppanen, Eetu (2007). Kirkon rooli kollektiivisissa kriiseissä. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 13 [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Saatavissa: http://www.evl.fi/kkh/ktk/13_karppanen.pdf [viitattu 28.1.2011].

Related Publications

Karppanen, Eetu (2007). Kirkon rooli kollektiivisissa kriiseissä. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 13 [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. http://www.evl.fi/kkh/ktk/13_karppanen.pdf [viitattu 28.1.2011].

Kansanen, Eliisa (2007). Kirkon rooli yhteiskunnallisissa ongelmissa [verkkodokumentti]. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 14. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. http://www.evl.fi/kkh/ktk/14_kansanen.pdf [viitattu 28.1.2011].