Study title

Parish Employee Survey 2019

Dataset ID Number

FSD3505

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3505
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3505

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Church Research Institute

Abstract

The church employee survey studied the views of people working in the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Main themes of the survey included voluntary work in and the culture of the parish, the future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and current issues in the church, managerial duties and equality in the church, the Marriage Act, climate change, church services, religiosity in everyday life, and utilising research data in parish work.

First, the survey examined parish activities and the role of parishes in Finnish society. The respondents were asked how well several statements described the activities of their parish, for example, whether parish work occurred in different kinds of networks outside the parish (e.g. schools and organisations) and whether the parish paid special attention in the activities to those at risk of exclusion. The role of volunteers and voluntary work in the parish were charted next with statements on, for example, whether the volunteers were independent in innovating and organising parish activities and whether work tasks for volunteers were planned in cooperation with parish employees. Views on the future of the church and current issues were surveyed regarding different ways of managing the deteriorating economy of parishes (e.g. raising the church tax, selling property), where parish resources for helping those in need should be primarily directed (e.g. supporting families in crisis, mitigating poverty, helping the lonely and sick), and whether the church should always offer aid to refugees.

Opinions on managerial duties and equality in the church were examined next with various statements. The statements included, for example, whether the respondents thought more women should be in managerial positions in the church and whether the status of sexual and gender minorities in the church should be improved. The respondents' views on the Marriage Act were surveyed (e.g. whether the church should continue to only officiate opposite-sex marriages or also officiate same-sex marriages), and opinions on the role of the church in mitigating climate change were charted (e.g. whether the church should guide people to change their way of living to be more sustainable). The respondents were also asked about parish services in general and specifically relating to baptism and the role of godparents. If the respondent was a pastor (a priest), they were asked further questions on their personal practices regarding baptism.

Next, religiosity in the respondents' everyday life was surveyed. The respondents were asked, for example, whether prayers or meditation were a regular part of their life, which books were spiritually most significant for them (excluding holy books of religions), and who were the most significant spiritual influencers for them. Finally, the respondents were asked about utilising research data in their work as elected officials in the parish (e.g. where they found research data on the church, whether they actively searched for it, and what types of analysis and reports they thought they needed for their work in the church).

The background variables included the respondent's year of birth, gender, job title, main field of work, how long R had worked as an elected official in the parish, number of persons in the parish, diocese, type of municipality (urban or rural), political party R had voted for in the 2019 parliamentary elections, and whether R belonged to a revivalist movement or a Christian organisation.

Keywords

baptisms; church; climate change; managers; marriage; personnel; refugees; religiosity; religious beliefs; social inequality; voluntary work

Topic Classification

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

Series

Parish Employee Surveys

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

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

Data Collector

• Talola, Nina (Church Research Institute)

Time Period Covered

2019

Collection Dates

2019-11-19 – 2019-12-25

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Employees aged over 18 working in the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Systematic random

Every fourth address was selected from an email list of employees of the Evangelical Luther Church of Finland

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

29

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

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, open-ended variables q13, q15, q17, q25, q40 and q41 were removed from the data. Open-ended responses left in the data (variable q29) were anonymised. Additionally, in variable q1 denoting the respondent's job title, the title 'lector' was combined into the same category with 'other clergy'. (In the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, a lector is a theologian who is employed by the church but has not been ordained. These days, the title is rare as it was first created for female theologians who could not be ordained as a pastor/priest before 1986.) The respondent's year of birth (variable q31) was categorised into five-year age groups and variable q34 denoting number of persons in the parish were top-coded at FSD. Changes made at FSD were marked with [square brackets].

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: Parish Employee Survey 2019 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-08-02). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3505

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

Salomäki, Hanna & Hytönen, Maarit & Ketola, Kimmo & Salminen, Veli-Matti & Sohlberg, Jussi (2020): Uskonto arjessa ja juhlassa: Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2016-2019 [verkkodokumentti]. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja 134. https://julkaisut.evl.fi/catalog/Tutkimukset%20ja%20julkaisut/r/4238 [viitattu 9.2.2021]

Salomäki, Hanna & Hytönen, Maarit & Ketola, Kimmo & Salminen, Veli-Matti & Sohlberg, Jussi (toim.) (2020): Kirkon kehittämistyön tukena: Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko vuosina 2016-2019. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 64. Tampere: Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. https://julkaisut.evl.fi/catalog/Tutkimukset%20ja%20julkaisut/r/4240 [viitattu 9.2.2021]

Salminen, Veli-Matti (2020): Missä mennään, diakoninen kirkko? Nelivuotiskertomuksen havaintoja. Diakonian tutkimus 2/2020: 34-39. https://evl.fi/documents/1327140/45652999/Minne+menet%2C+diakoninen+kirkko+%28V-M+Salminen+DT+2_2020%29.pdf/3177e2f1-4dc0-c506-8a00-cd59dcf05017?t=1608543389147

Hytönen, Maarit (2021)Kuinka käy kristillisen kasvatuksen? Crux 1/2021. 36 - 39.

Hytönen, Maarit (2021) Kaste suomalaisten kokemuksena ja saarnojen aiheena. Vol 1 Nro 1 (2021): Uskonto, katsomus ja kasvatus. https://journal.fi/ukk/issue/view/7859

Salomäki, Hanna; Hytönen, Maarit; Ketola, Kimmo; Salminen, Veli-Matti & Sohlberg, Jussi (2021): Religion till vardags och fest. Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland 2016-2019. Kyrkans forskningscentrals publikationer 135. Tampere: Kyrkans forskningscentral.

Salomäki, Hanna; Hytönen, Maarit; Ketola, Kimmo; Salminen, Veli-Matti & Sohlberg, Jussi (2021): Religion in Daily Life and in Celebration. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, 2016-2019. Tampere: The Church Research Institute.