Authors

• Church Research Institute
• Union of Church Professionals (AKI)

Keywords

church, civil partnerships, equality between the sexes, homosexuality, ministers of religion, ordination of women, religious personnel, religious personnel, trade unions, working conditions, workloads

Abstract

The survey conducted by the Union of Church Professionals (AKI) and focused on member views on union activities, church administration, ethical issues and working conditions. AKI members work as clergy or church musicians in Finland, and the union consists of the Union of Finnish Clergy and the Finnish Association of Church Organists.

The respondents were asked how well acquainted they were with AKI, where they had learned about the union, and what their image of the Finnish Association of Church Organists or the Union of Finnish Clergy was. Satisfaction with the union and preferred goals for union activities were also surveyed.

Views on church administration were charted with a number of statements relating to, for instance, parish mergers, new pay model, career advancement and church organisation. Other questions covered gender equality in the working place, whether men or women were more suited to be clergymen or church musicians, attitudes towards the ordination of women, and cooperation with female ministers. Questions on ethical issues explored opinions on infertility treatment, church blessing on same-sex couples (registered partnerships of same-sex couples), and whether clergy, church musicians or youth, office or maintenance workers of the church could live together with a same-sex partner or otherwise be openly homosexual.

Other themes pertained to work orientation, motivation and working conditions. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of a number of activities conducted by parishes. The activities mentioned included, for instance, helping people, reading and teaching the Bible, worship services, missionary work, promoting the rights of minorities, promoting justice and equality. They were also asked what work meant to them (way of earning a living, a source of satisfaction, vocation etc). Satisfaction with the job and pay were charted as well as what kind of spiritual support they wanted from the church. Other questions focused on additional jobs, hours of work for certain tasks, days off, amount of work, autonomy at work, work-life balance, stress and exhaustion symptoms, personal faith, praying and Bible reading.

Background variables included the respondent's year of birth (categorised), gender, marital status, year of ordination (categorised) or year of graduating as church musician (categorised), job title and status, main duties, number of years working for the parish, type of contract, periods of unemployment, supervisory status, type and size of the municipality, diocese, and spiritual background.