Study title

Worship Service Survey 2010

Dataset ID Number

FSD2830

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2830
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2830

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Niemelä, Kati (Church Research Institute)
• Leinonen, Miia (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)

Abstract

The survey studied expectations on and experiences of Evangelical Lutheran worship services in Finland. The survey formed part of a worship service development project conducted by the Office of the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Expectations on worship services and Mass were studied with a number of statements. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with statements relating to Bible-reading during the service, sermons, intercessory prayer, the Holy Communion, hymns, music, liturgy, minister, atmosphere at the service, relevance for certain groups etc. For example, "The sermon should focus on God's grace" or "Well-known hymns create a good atmosphere".

Next, the respondents were asked how well their expectations had been fulfilled in the particular service they had attended, how the service had in fact been conducted. The issues taken up were the same as mentioned in the statements above. For example, "The sermon focused on God's grace" or "The hymns in the service were known to me". One set of questions explored which factors might influence the respondents' willingness to attend worship services.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth, economic activity, education, frequency of worship service attendance and membership in a parish.

Keywords

Mass; church services; communion; liturgy; religious attendance; religious ceremonies; sermons

Topic Classification

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

• Niemelä, Kati (Church Research Institute)
• Leinonen, Miia (University of Helsinki. Department of Practical Theology)

Data Producers

• Church Research Institute

Time Period Covered

2010

Collection Dates

2010-11-21 – 2010-12-19

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Helsinki, Heinävesi, Forssa

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Event/Process/Activity

Universe

People attending a worship service on a particular day in the Evangelical Lutheran parishes of Malmi, Kannelniemi, Heinävesi and Forssa

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The data were collected in connection with five worship services (including a Holy Communion), held in four different parishes. The parishes in question were Malmi and Kannelniemi parishes in Helsinki, and Heinävesi and Forssa parishes. For the Malmi parish, there was a service held both in Malmi and in Pihlajamäki. The services were held on the Feast of Christ the King day or on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th Sunday of Advent. The attendees were informed of the survey either before or during the service, except for one service. People attending the service were given the opportunity to complete the questionnaire either at the church or later at home in which case they were given an envelope for returning it.

Altogether, 562 persons attended the five worship services and 230 persons returned a completed questionnaire.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

41

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

Niemelä, Kati (Church Research Institute) & Leinonen, Miia (University of Helsinki): Worship Service Survey 2010 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-20). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2830

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.

Other Material

See downloadable files at the top of the page.

Questionnaire: pdf file in Finnish

Related Publications

Leinonen, Miia & Niemelä, Kati (2012). Jumalanpalvelus arjen voimana: Seurakuntalaisten jumalanpalvelusodotukset ja -kokemukset. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen www-julkaisuja 29. urn:isbn: 978-951-693-319-4