Study title

Gallup Ecclesiastica 2007

Dataset ID Number

FSD2710

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2710
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2710

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Church Research Institute

Abstract

The survey contained questions about church and religion in Finland. The respondents (n=1030) were first asked whether they were members of a church or other religious community. Those who were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland were asked the importance of certain reasons for the Church membership (e.g. the possibility to participate Church service, the Church teaches Christian love of one's neighbour) and whether they had considered quitting the Church. Those who were not members of the Church were asked whether they had considered joining it. The respondents were requested to estimate how well certain adjectives describe the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, using pairs of opposite adjectives (e.g. honest-dishonest, tolerant-intolerant).

Participation in congregational and spiritual life was charted with questions focusing on how often the respondents participated in church services, the Eucharist or other spiritual events and how often they prayed, read the Bible and watched or listened to religious programmes on TV or radio. Different factors causing non-participation in church activities, such as the respondent's lack of influence in the Church or the perceived narrow-mindedness of the Church were surveyed.

Opinions on the development of the Church were examined. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with statements such as "the Church should, above all, proclaim the word of God" and "the Church should be more tolerant". Views were probed on the belief in God as well as the firmness of belief in a number of religious tenets and phenomena (e.g. the virgin birth of Jesus, Heaven, the Last Judgement). Perceptions on the nature of God were investigated by requesting the respondents to choose between a pair of opposite adjectives describing God. Opinions on the origin of human beings and other species as well as on Jesus and life after death were charted.

The respondents were asked how well the Evangelical Lutheran Church has performed its tasks. Religious upbringing of the respondents was investigated by asking about, for example, the recital of bedtime prayer, observation of Sabbath and discussions about religious matters in the respondent's childhood home. The respondents were further asked whether they had received a religious upbringing from family members (e.g. mother, father, grandfather) and whether they intended to give their own children a religious upbringing.

Views were probed on the ordination of women, on the people opposing it and on attendance in events with a priestess. The respondents' willingness to pay more church tax in order to preserve the services and activities provided by the Church was investigated as well as their habits of donating money to charity during the year.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's age, gender, occupational status, education, gross annual income of the household, occupational status of the household head, region of residence (NUTS3), municipality type, household composition, political party choice if parliamentary elections were held at that time and political party choice in the previous parliamentary elections.

Keywords

beliefs; church; membership; ordination of women; protestantism; religion; religious attendance; religious doctrines; religious practice

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

2007

Collection Dates

2007-01 – 2007-02

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15 and over living in Finland (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 major regions (NUTS2). In the second stage, the number of subjects was further subdivided within each major region 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. Four 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

245 variables and 1030 cases.

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

Church Research Institute: Gallup Ecclesiastica 2007 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-08-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2710

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

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

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.

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.

Hytönen, Maarit 2015. Naispappeus, suomalaiset ja kirkko 2000-luvulla. Naisteologit ry:n jäseninfo 4/2015.

Hytönen, Maarit 2016. Suomalaisten suhtautuminen naispappeuteen 2000-luvulla. Crux 1/2016.

Salminen, Veli-Matti 2016. Suomalaisten uskonnollisuus - passiivinen osallistuminen, aktiivinen etsintä. Teoksessa: Miten Suomi uskoo. Toim. Joona Salminen. STKSJ 284. Helsinki: STKS, 62-76.

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.

Meriläinen, Heidi (2022). Päättyikö tuki haudalle? Omaisten kokemuksia seurakunnan tarjoamasta tuesta hautajaisten jälkeen. Pastoraaliteologian maisterintutkielma. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto.

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