One in three wants civil wedding in Finland

print this

The popularity of church weddings has gone down in Finland over the past decade. According to church statistics for 2004, fewer than two couples out of three had a church wedding last year, whereas in 1995 more than three in four couples wanted their marriage to be officiated by a pastor in church.
      According to congregations, people who prefer a civil ceremony are usually divorced and do not wish to make a big deal about marrying again.
      Director Kimmo Kääriäinen of the Research Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, says that it seems likely that those who are to marry a second or third time seldom wish to have a church ceremony. The Research Institute intends to study the matter further.
     
On the other hand, over 86% of children were baptised as members of the Lutheran Church in 2004. The popularity of baptism in Finland is related to the regulations of the church. A child can be baptised even if only one of the parents is a member of the church. On the other hand, if a couple wants a church wedding, they both have to be members of the church.
      The number of Finns who quit the Evangelical Lutheran Church last year was 27,000. Hence the number of church members decreased by 0.5% in proportion to the number of the entire population. Currently, 84% of all Finns belong to the church.
      On the other hand, the number of those quitting the church has been growing for two years in succession. According to new legislation that came into effect in 2003, the freedom of religion allows for abandoning the church immediately without personally visiting the congregation.
      The new law alone does not account for the fact that a large number of Finns are likely to quit the church even in the future.
      Typical church resignations come from 18- to 30-year-old youngsters who move away from home to live in the area where they are studying. Apparently, they also wish to separate from the family traditions at the same time. On the other hand, some of them are likely to join the church again - in order to have a church wedding later.


Links:
  The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Helsingin Sanomat