Tekijät

• Church Research Institute

Asiasanat

beliefs, christianity, church, membership, religious attendance, religious behaviour, religious beliefs, religious communities, religious institutions, religious instruction, religious practice, voluntary work

Sisällön kuvaus

The study charted the religious behaviour of people aged 20-39 and their attitudes towards religion.

The significance of different people, things and activities in the respondents' lives were investigated (e.g. family, work, religion) as well as happiness with life in general. The respondents were presented a number of statements relating to beliefs, spirituality and religions (e.g. "God exists", "I'm interested in meditation") and asked to what extent they agreed with them. They were also asked whether they considered themselves religious or spiritual and whether they belonged to a church or a religious community. The respondents who were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland were asked additional questions about whether they had considered leaving the Church and whether they had joined the Church at some point (instead of being a member since birth). The respondents who did not belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church were asked whether they had ever considered joining the Church, whether they had left the Church and when, and why they had left.

Participation and desire to participate in congregational and spiritual life was charted (e.g. the frequency of attending church service, reading the Bible). Satisfaction with the activities of the Parish on the whole was surveyed as well as perceptions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Religious education and upbringing received by the respondents was investigated by asking whether they were taught an evening prayer as a child at home, who had given them religious instruction, whether they had attended confirmation classes and what the effect of the classes had been on their spiritual and religious life and their attitudes toward the Church and the Parish.

Some questions charted participation and willingness to participate in different forms of voluntary work, and reasons for not doing voluntary work. Finally, the respondents were asked to what extent they believed in different Christian doctrines and in some paranormal phenomena.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, household composition, economic activity, and education level as well as how long R had lived in the capital area, and whether they had children.