Religion in Finland

I'm going to venture out into an area that I don't know too much about: the relationship of church and state in Finland. There are two state religions: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church. These churches are supported by a state tax of about 2%. It is possible to dissassociate from the church and then no tax is owed. We've noticed that all the churches we've seen in Finland are maintained very well which we attribute to the tax. Churches, in turn, perform some functions that might otherwise be performed by the state such as maintenance of cemeteries, birth and marriage registration, and some social services. The President of Finland is the ultimate head of the Lutheran church in Finland. Religion is taught in the schools. Parents may choose to have their children study some alternative topics. Any time there are 3 or more children in a school from a certain denomination that religion can be taught in the school. Missionaries regularly go to schools to present information about the Mormon church in the religion classes. At zone conference President Estes spoke about the results of a survey about religion in Finland. People were asked to rank religions according to how favorably they viewed each one. Lutheranism was number one, and the Salvation Army was ranked second most favorably. Mormons were at the bottom along with Jehovah's witnesses. President believes this low ranking is related to our practice and history of tracting in Finland and has asked missionaries to stop tracting and focus on performing service.

There was an article in the Helsingin Sanomat last week titled: "Lutheran Church loses nearly 400,000 members between 1984 and 2004." And resignations from the church are increasing. One reason seen for the rising trend is the new law on religious freedom, which came into effect in August 2003, which made the process of leaving the church easier. Since then it has no longer been necessary to make a personal appearance to cancel membership: sending a letter was enought. A survey has indicated that 70-80% of those quitting the church are young adults between the ages of 18 and 39 -- an age-cohort that the church ahs worked hard to keep within the fold.

Apparently, the trend toward secularization which dominates European culture and youth in particular is one problem that is affecting the growth of our church in Europe. President Perry while he was in Europe as area president decided that the future of the church in Europe lies with youth. Therefore, the Church is beginning to develop a system of centers located near universities where young people may gather.