In Depth:  Finland

Luke Randall

Päivi Räsänen’s long-running “hate speech” case is set to go all the way to the Finnish Supreme Court, following two unanimous acquittals in lower courts. The latest development will see the high-profile case involving the Finnish MP move into its seventh year.

As previously covered by en, the former leader of the Christian Democrat party was initially charged for the agitation of a minority group after she shared her Christian views on issues including marriage and sexuality and criticised the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for its involvement in LGBT Pride events. She has spoken about such issues in a variety of settings, including on radio broadcasts, in a church pamphlet and on social media.

Luke Randall

The number of teenagers in Finland who say they believe in God has increased greatly in recent years, with more young men than women now saying they believe, a new study has found.

New research found that as many as 62% of boys who attended confirmation classes said they believed in God in 2024, while about half of girls expressed the same belief. These statistics represent a large increase amongst both genders, with up to 50% of boys in the nation expressing a belief in God in 2023, alongside about 35% of girls.

Iain Taylor

European Missionary Fellowship has appointed its first missionaries in Finland, Eelis and Manna Halmemies. Eelis is the pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church in Jyväskylä (about 170 miles north of Helsinki); he and his wife Manna have four children, with a fifth on the way.

Eelis was raised in a loving, conservative Pentecostal family in Finland. He encountered the gospel in his youth, but only came to a personal conviction of sin and understood the significance of the cross of Christ in High School, through studying the Living Waters material. He was then baptised and joined the local Pentecostal church aged 18.

Iain Taylor

Finnish Christian Democratic MP Dr Päivi Räsänen has declared she is ‘ready to defend free speech and freedom of religion’.

Her statement comes as the Prosecutor General for Finland announced that  she would – for the second time - appeal against Mrs Räsänen’s prior acquittals, and take the case before Finland’s Supreme Court. Both the District Court and the Court of Appeal had, in a series of court battles stretching back almost two years, earlier rejected all charges against her and Lutheran bishop Juhana Pohjola.

Iain Taylor

Finnish MP Paivi Rasanen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola have been acquitted by the Finland Court of Appeal. They were accused of ‘hate speech’ and violating the nation’s statute against ‘War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity’ by sharing Bible verses and traditional Christian teaching about sexuality. Had they been found guilty they could have been sentenced to up to two years in prison.

Outside the Court Paivi said ‘I am relieved, happy and grateful to God and to all those who have supported me through this stage of my life. The decision was in line with my expectations – I never doubted for a moment that I committed any offence in my writings and statements.

Iain Taylor

The Helsinki Court of Appeals is to reopen the case against Christian MP Päivi Räsänen (see photo), just weeks after she was acquitted in the city’s District Court.

Then, the unanimous verdict of the judges was that she acted within the law in expressing her religious convictions about homosexuality. They declared she was using her freedom of expression and religion when she referred to her Biblical beliefs.

A Finnish MP defending Biblical standards on sex and morality has pledged to continue her fight for free speech following a decision by the country’s top prosecutor to appeal against her acquittal.

Dr Päivi Räsänen’s vow follows the Finnish Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen’s decision to appeal against the unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict of the District Court by going to the Court of Appeal.

A Finnish evangelical Christian leader who is facing court because of his orthodox beliefs on sexual morality has spoken to en, declaring that public opinion is on his side.

However, The Revd Dr Juhana Pohjola, Bishop Elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), criticised what he called the ‘awkward silence’ of the established church in his country.

An MP is facing police action over her mainstream Christian beliefs, it was reported in April.

Päivi Räsänen, a former government minister, faces four separate investigations over her biblical view of sexuality.