Study title

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...