Last fall, a TV debate about homosexuality led to a massive wave of resignations from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). I blogged about that PR catastrophe at the time.
Now, a Christian campaign against homosexuality has caused a new rise in the number of resignations from the Lutheran Church. Some 500 people resigned on Tuesday, March 22, compared to the usual average of 50 for this time of year, according to the online church-resignation service Eroakirkosta.fi. In a week, some 2,000 people have resigned.
The reason for the rise is clear, according to the Eroakirkosta.fi press officer Johanna Sauna-aho. "We’ve received a lot of feedback, which gives the reason for people’s resignation as this campaign," she said.
Christian organisations publicised the Älä alistu! ('don't submit') campaign, which warns young people against homosexuality. The campaign included 'Anni's story', a video detailing one young women's story of how her faith helped her to stop being bisexual. In one video she compares her situation to that of a reformed murderer.
The campaign was not organised by the ELCF, but it is supported by several organizations that receive funds from the Church’s tax revenues. Members of the church pay tax to support its activities, and according to Sauna-aho, this was one reason many people gave for their resignation.
The Finnish Lutheran Evangelical Association and the Finnish Lutheran Mission, who receive money from the church’s tax revenue, helped fund the campaign. Other organizers included the Finnish branch of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, the Finnish Bible Studies youth division, the Missionary and humanitarian aid fund, and the Finnish Luther fund.
A petition on the internet (in Finnish) asks the central office of the ELCF to stop supporting organisations that go against the Church's policies on women pastors and on acceptance of sexual minorities. I signed (as #186); please do likewise!
Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and several other bishops have in no uncertain terms distanced themselves from the campaign. The archbishop stated that it will have repercussions on the funding of the organizations involved. And the conservatives, of course, screamed that they are being persecuted.
The political scientist Sari Roman-Lagerspetz speculated that the campaign could be a conscious revenge from the conservatives. By publicising their views, they wished to spark a reaction among liberal Church members and get them to resign, and so leave the conservatives in charge.
The researcher Virpi Mäkinen sees evidences of the collision of two different ecclesiologies. The Lutheran ecclesiology (view of the Church) is that the Church is a corpus mixtum, a mixed body of Christ to which belong all kinds of people. The fundamentalists have an exclusive ecclesiology, according to which only people who interpret the Bible in a certain way can be members of the true Church.
Now, a Christian campaign against homosexuality has caused a new rise in the number of resignations from the Lutheran Church. Some 500 people resigned on Tuesday, March 22, compared to the usual average of 50 for this time of year, according to the online church-resignation service Eroakirkosta.fi. In a week, some 2,000 people have resigned.
The reason for the rise is clear, according to the Eroakirkosta.fi press officer Johanna Sauna-aho. "We’ve received a lot of feedback, which gives the reason for people’s resignation as this campaign," she said.
Christian organisations publicised the Älä alistu! ('don't submit') campaign, which warns young people against homosexuality. The campaign included 'Anni's story', a video detailing one young women's story of how her faith helped her to stop being bisexual. In one video she compares her situation to that of a reformed murderer.
The campaign was not organised by the ELCF, but it is supported by several organizations that receive funds from the Church’s tax revenues. Members of the church pay tax to support its activities, and according to Sauna-aho, this was one reason many people gave for their resignation.
The Finnish Lutheran Evangelical Association and the Finnish Lutheran Mission, who receive money from the church’s tax revenue, helped fund the campaign. Other organizers included the Finnish branch of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, the Finnish Bible Studies youth division, the Missionary and humanitarian aid fund, and the Finnish Luther fund.
A petition on the internet (in Finnish) asks the central office of the ELCF to stop supporting organisations that go against the Church's policies on women pastors and on acceptance of sexual minorities. I signed (as #186); please do likewise!
Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and several other bishops have in no uncertain terms distanced themselves from the campaign. The archbishop stated that it will have repercussions on the funding of the organizations involved. And the conservatives, of course, screamed that they are being persecuted.
The political scientist Sari Roman-Lagerspetz speculated that the campaign could be a conscious revenge from the conservatives. By publicising their views, they wished to spark a reaction among liberal Church members and get them to resign, and so leave the conservatives in charge.
The researcher Virpi Mäkinen sees evidences of the collision of two different ecclesiologies. The Lutheran ecclesiology (view of the Church) is that the Church is a corpus mixtum, a mixed body of Christ to which belong all kinds of people. The fundamentalists have an exclusive ecclesiology, according to which only people who interpret the Bible in a certain way can be members of the true Church.
Arkkipiispa: Homoseksuaalisuus ei ole minkäänlainen synti (MTV3.fi 20.10.10)
Kristittyjen homovastainen kampanja ihmetyttää Suomessa (Uusi Suomi 21.3.11)
Kampanj vill bota unga homosexuella (svenska.yle.fi 22.3.11)
Eroakirkosta.fi:ssä kuhinaa – tässä syy (Uusi Suomi 22.3.11)
Ärkebiskopen kritiserar kampanjen (Hufvudstadsbladet 22.3.11)
Tutkija homovastaisesta kampanjasta: Ei minkäänlaista logiikkaa (Iltalehti 22.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen deltog i webbdiskussion om homosexualitet (Kyrklig tidningstjänst 22.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen osallistui verkkokeskusteluun Älä alistu -kampanjasta (Kirkon tiedotuskeskus 22.3.11)
Askola: Homoseksuaalien identiteettiä kunnioitettava (Kotimaa 22.3.11)
Motkampanjen raderades från Facebook (Hufvudstadsbladet 22.3.11)
Många lämnade kyrkan i går (Hufvudstadsbladet 23.3.11)
Anti-Gay Campaign Causes Church Resignations (YLE.fi 23.3.11)
Kohu homovastaisesta kampanjasta - Kristilliset nuoret kaipaavat suvaitsevaisuutta (Aamulehti 23.3.11)
Homojen eheyttämiskohu - vain vihreät heräsi (Aamulehti 23.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen: du är värdefull som du är (Kyrkpressen 23.3.11)
Eheytymiskampanja politisoitui (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Professori: Eheytyskeskustelussa palataan maailmaan, jota ei ole koskaan ollutkaan (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Heikka: Eheytymisvideo saattaa vaikuttaa järjestöjen talouteen (Kotimaa 23.3.11)
Kampanj ledde till utträden ur Finska kyrkan (Kyrkans Tidning 23.3.11)
Kirkon eroluvut nousseet lähes Homoilta-kohun tahtia (Helsingin Sanomat 24.3.11)
Tutkija: Heterokampanja ehkä kosto kirkon liberalisoitumiselle (Helsingin Sanomat 24.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen haluaa Älä alistu -kampanjan loppuvan (Kirkon tiedotuskeskus 24.3.11)
Ärkebiskop Mäkinen vill att kampanjen Älä alistu (Stå på dig) avslutas (Kyrklig tidningstjänst 24.3.11)
Arkkipiispa Mäkinen haluaa Älä alistu! -kampanjan loppuvan (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Älä alistu! -kampanjan jatkoa pohditaan (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Eheytymistä edistävällä Aslanilla yhteistyötä vain harvan seurakunnan kanssa (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
"Emme ole eheytymisristiretkellä" (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
”De borde ha vetat bättre” (Kyrkpressen 24.3.11)
Älä alistu! -kampanja päättymässä (Kotimaa 24.3.11)
Finska väckelserörelser i kampanj: Homosexuella kan bli botade (Dagen 25.3.11)
KD nuoret huolissaan Älä alistu -kampanjan vastareaktioista (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)
Kohua herättänyt heterokampanja lopetettiin (Iltalehti 25.3.11)
Piispa Riekkinen pitää homokampanjaa puoskarointina (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)
Heterokampanjan järjestäjät surevat joukkopakoa (Savon Sanomat 25.3.11)
Thousands leave Finnish Lutheran church over anti-gay campaign (PinkNews 28.3.11)
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