Authors

• Salomäki, Hanna (Church Research Institute)
• Ketola, Kimmo (Church Research Institute)

Keywords

christianity, church, religion, religious affiliation, religious behaviour, religious communities, religious doctrines

Abstract

This study charted Finnish views on Lutheranism. First, the respondents were presented with a variety of statements concerning religion and they were asked to evaluate to what extent these statements depicted characteristic features of Lutheranism. After this, as the Lutheran Church celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the respondents were asked whether they had noticed themes of Reformation in different channels, such as radio or television programmes, social media, newspapers, and the Church's communication, and whether the anniversary had given them new thoughts about the significance of the Reformation and Lutheranism on Finnish culture.

Next, the survey charted the respondents' membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or other religious community as well as how often they participated in church services, how often they prayed, and whether or not they believed in the existence of God.

Background variables included gender, age group, region of residence (NUTS2), annual gross income of the household, type of municipality of residence, education level, use of social media services, economic activity and occupational status, and whether the respondent worked as someone's superior.