Fears and Anxieties 1999

The survey studied fears and anxieties felt by the Finns relating to the turn of the millennium. The respondents were asked to assess the likelihood of ecological disasters, mounting up of religious fundamentalism, and outbreak of religious wars. They also estimated the potential for some human-inflicted catastrophe, such as the spreading of AIDS, or the Y2K-related failures. In addition, the prospects of ending wars, the return of Jesus, spreading of religious revivalism, and the reunion of Christian churches were canvassed. Background variables included the respondent's basic and vocational education, year of birth, gender, marital status, number of members in the household, economic activity, industry of employment, type of employer, weekly working hours, household annual gross income, trade union membership, self-reported social class, left-right political self-placement, which party R had voted for in the 1999 parliamentary elections and in the 1999 European Parliament elections, and which party R would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time.