Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis in Finnish Parishes 2020

The survey charted the experiences of employees and elected officials of the parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in different parts of Finland during the COVID-19 crisis. The survey was conducted by the Church Research Institute in April 2020. 298 church employees and elected officials responded to the survey. The largest respondent groups were pastors/priests, diaconal workers, and youth work leaders. First, the respondents were asked whether their parish had adopted any new ways of carrying out their activities during the COVID-19 crisis (e.g. streaming church services online, home delivering food aid, increasing the amount of phone and online discussion help) and whether the crisis had left the parish with more people in need than before. Views were surveyed on whether the occurrence of several negative phenomena had increased among children, young people, people of working age, and pensioners in the parish. The phenomena included, for example, increases in substance abuse, mental health problems, and feelings of uncertainty. Next, the respondents were asked whether various subjects, such as reflections on a possible connection of the COVID-19 pandemic to end times and prophecies, had come up during discussions when people contacted the parish. Finally, the respondents' views were examined with open-ended questions on the most common causes of concern in the parishes at present as well as other potentially concerning phenomena that might emerge in the upcoming weeks or months. Background variables included the respondent's role in the parish (employee or elected official).