Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church
In this study, I clarify what kind of attitudes the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) have towards same-sex marriage and how they treat people who disagree with them. The empirical research material consists of 534 answers from Finnish clergy. The ELCF has rejected same-sex...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/734 |
| _version_ | 1797431791403925504 |
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| author | Laura Kallatsa |
| author_facet | Laura Kallatsa |
| author_sort | Laura Kallatsa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, I clarify what kind of attitudes the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) have towards same-sex marriage and how they treat people who disagree with them. The empirical research material consists of 534 answers from Finnish clergy. The ELCF has rejected same-sex marriages, while in all other Nordic countries, the Lutheran churches are marrying same-sex couples. However, over half of the Finnish Lutheran clergy support same-sex marriages in the church. My article shows that the main justifications for their attitudes are: (1) theological justifications, (2) legal justifications, and (3) justifications related to the essence of marriage. Most of the priests treated respectfully those who disagree with them, while a third of the priests had negative thoughts. As a background theory I use the Theory of Moral Foundations, which gives useful tools for understanding why the clergy are divided by same-sex marriage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:50:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df472ad2aba4433b95255a503567c573 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:50:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-df472ad2aba4433b95255a503567c5732023-12-02T00:14:22ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-08-0113873410.3390/rel13080734Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran ChurchLaura Kallatsa0Philosophical Faculty, School of Theology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101 Joensuu, FinlandIn this study, I clarify what kind of attitudes the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) have towards same-sex marriage and how they treat people who disagree with them. The empirical research material consists of 534 answers from Finnish clergy. The ELCF has rejected same-sex marriages, while in all other Nordic countries, the Lutheran churches are marrying same-sex couples. However, over half of the Finnish Lutheran clergy support same-sex marriages in the church. My article shows that the main justifications for their attitudes are: (1) theological justifications, (2) legal justifications, and (3) justifications related to the essence of marriage. Most of the priests treated respectfully those who disagree with them, while a third of the priests had negative thoughts. As a background theory I use the Theory of Moral Foundations, which gives useful tools for understanding why the clergy are divided by same-sex marriage.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/734clergyELCFLutheranismmarriagemoral foundation theorysame-sex marriage |
| spellingShingle | Laura Kallatsa Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church Religions clergy ELCF Lutheranism marriage moral foundation theory same-sex marriage |
| title | Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church |
| title_full | Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church |
| title_fullStr | Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church |
| title_full_unstemmed | Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church |
| title_short | Same-Sex Marriage, Toleration, and the Clergy of the Finnish Lutheran Church |
| title_sort | same sex marriage toleration and the clergy of the finnish lutheran church |
| topic | clergy ELCF Lutheranism marriage moral foundation theory same-sex marriage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/734 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurakallatsa samesexmarriagetolerationandtheclergyofthefinnishlutheranchurch |