Kati Tervo-Niemelä

Examination of religious biographies tend to show increase of religiosity towards old age, most often in the context of a previously familiar religious community. These changes in individuals do not happen in a vacuum. Religious landscapes are also in transformation, characterized by a steady decline of institutional religiosity and religious practice in most European countries and more recently in the US and Canada, too. However, there is a dire lack of detailed knowledge on how these changes in individuals and societies are intertwined. This paper presents findings of the Finnish sub-project of the five-country research project “Transmission of religion across generations.” The paper utilizes both three-generation interviews, and the contextual information gathered in the families about the past and present generations. The narratives about religious biographies of the oldest (gen.1) interviewees are discussed, and set in the context of the changes in the surrounding social sphere...

In this study, we analyze how do safety and closeness, or the lack of them, affect religious socialization in Finnish families. Our empirical data consist of family interviews and a large survey data. As a result, three key dimensions were found: 1) the atmosphere in families, 2) the atmosphere related to religious communities, and 3) the atmosphere related to one’s own spirituality. Our study suggests several implications both for practice in religious and other communities of existential meaning and for the study of those communities and empirical theologies. The study is part of the international research project “The transmission of religion across generations: a comparative international study of continuities and discontinuities in family socialization”, funded by Templeton Foundation.

Earlier research has revealed contrasting gender results in standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for cancers and cardiovascular diseases of Finnish church musicians compared with the general population. In order to better understand the SMRs, our study examined gender differences in health and work-related experiences of church musicians with special focus on experienced stress and burnout on the one hand, and work engagement and mental well-being on the other. The data were collected by a questionnaire including both standardized measures and open-ended questions. Statistical methods (mostly χ2 tests) were used for examining gender differences in the measures, and the open-ended questions were analyzed using theory-driven content analysis. The two sets of data complemented each other. Analyses of the standardized measures showed that church musicians have more burnout and distress than the general population but the results were not gendered. However, the open-ended questions reveal...

Relationship to national churches in the Nordic countries has often been described as “believing in belonging”. Based on a longitudinal survey data, I argue in this article that this notion does not apply anymore to the young generation, often referred as Generation Y. Therefore, they are highly challenging traditional reasons for belonging to national churches. The number of church-leavers has been unusually high in Finland since the beginning of 21st century, a vast majority of them young adults. The same young adults were confirmed in the church only a few years earlier. This study aims to give understanding to the high number of young people who leave the Church soon after confirmation. The study shows that for Generation Y, the church-leaving process is linked to beliefs and values. They do not leave the church because they are disappointed with it, but because they do not find it to be in line with their own beliefs. The tradition and culture are not enough to keep them as mem...

The article focuses on the work orientation and changes therein among the clergy in Finland, and on its implications for practical church work. The article is based on a survey conducted among the clergy in Finland (N=878). The research shows that clergy make distinctions between various work tasks that are in line with the traditional distinction between “function” and “performance”. The results show that liberal theological orientation, which is linked to performance-orientation, is increasing. The aspects of work which seem to be most threatened are evangelization, missionary work, and reading and teaching the Bible. There are also many areas of work that are likely to remain stable and unite the clergy regardless of their gender, age or theological orientation.

In this study, the focus is on death attitudes among the clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and their role in clergy work. The aim is to find out whether these attitudes have any practical relevance in clergy work and to see if the death attitudes are linked to the work orientation and wellbeing among the clergy. The death attitudes are measured by the Death Attitude Profile-Revised DAP-R (N=650). The results show that death attitudes have a multifaceted role in clergy work. Negative death attitudes were linked to an outward motivational orientation in work and lower levels of work wellbeing, and positive, on the other hand, to lower levels of burnout and higher levels of work engagement. These results show the importance of the competence related to death in clergy work and these notions should be acknowledged in the education and further education of the clergy.

Zusammenfassung:Der Beitrag basiert auf zwei zusammenhängenden international-vergleichenden empirischen Studien zur Konfirmandenarbeit in Europa, die 2007–2010 und 2012–2017 in folgenden Ländern durchgeführt wurden: Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz, Dänemark, Finnland, Norwegen, Schweden, Polen (nur zweite Studie) und Ungarn (nur zweite Studie). In beiden Studien wurde ein umfassender Datensatz erhoben, der ausgefüllte Fragebögen von um 30.000 Respondenten einschloss. Befragt wurden Konfirmandinnen und Konfirmanden, ehren- und hauptamtliche Mitarbeitende, in manchen Ländern auch die Eltern; die zweite Studie schloss zudem eine Befragung zwei Jahre nach der Konfirmation ein. Im vorliegenden Aufsatz werden zentrale Befunde des Forschungsprojektes präsentiert, auch um die Fruchtbarkeit international-vergleichender Forschung religionspädagogisch zu belegen. Der Beitrag mündet in ausgewählten Entwicklungsperspektiven für international-vergleichende Forschung zur Konfirmandenarbeit.

Abstract This study examines work orientation and its connections to wellbeing at work among the clergy. Using k-means clustering, the article aims to build a typology of clergy members’ work orientation and analyze wellbeing at work among different types of clergy members. The study is based on a survey conducted in 2014 among the clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (N = 562). The results of the study show that the clergy have clear and distinctive work orientation profiles and that these profiles also have a clear linkage to wellbeing at work. Four clergy profiles were identified: clergy with a multifaceted orientation (47 %); clergy oriented towards worship life (29 %); clergy oriented towards promoting justice and helping (19 %); and clergy with a passive orientation (6 %). The study strongly suggests that clergy members with the broadest orientation and interests are most able to deal with the multifaceted demands of church work. A multiple orientation seemed to serve as a strong supporting factor at work, and by being oriented to a broad range of activities, this group also enjoyed more potential sources of support and more joyful experiences at work. Those oriented towards worship life drew their main support from the spiritual aspects of work, but they were most likely to suffer from a lack of social competence. Those oriented toward promoting justice and helping received most support from encountering people. At the same time those who were passively oriented in their work experienced the least satisfaction and the least support.