Study title

Church Resignation Forms Filed in Finland: Reasons for Resigning 2010-2017

Dataset ID Number

FSD3236

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3236

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Vakaumusten tasa-arvo VATA ry
• Tampereen vapaa-ajattelijat ry

Abstract

The data consist of reasons for leaving church given by 1,005 people who had quit the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Finnish Orthodox Church on the eroakirkosta.fi online service.

The eroakirkosta.fi service allows users the possibility to state their reason(s) for leaving the church. The reason for leaving is asked after the resignation form has been submitted.

Background information includes age and gender.

This dataset is only available in Finnish and Swedish, depending on the respondent's mother tongue.

Keywords

church; religion; religious affiliation; religious behaviour; religious beliefs; religious institutions; values

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social change (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Religion and values (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Reasons for Resigning from Church

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• Vakaumusten tasa-arvo VATA ry

Time Period Covered

2010-08 – 2017-12

Collection Dates

2010-08 – 2017-12

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People who had quit the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Finnish Orthodox Church on eroakirkosta.fi

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Systematic random

The archived dataset was sampled from the extensive data of over 100,000 resignation forms. Out of all the feedback left between 2010 and 2017, blank responses and responses consisting, for instance, of only a single letter were removed before sampling. The remaining responses were sorted by time and date, and every 121st response was selected.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Programming script

Data collection guidelines: Secondary data collection guide

Data Files

1,005 reasons for quitting church in Finnish or Swedish in a single TXT file.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD3206 Church Resignation Forms Filed in Finland 2007-2016

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

All direct and indirect identifiers, including smaller places of residence, relating to the respondent or other private persons were removed from the data. The exact date of resignation was also removed. Anonymised sections are marked with square brackets.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Vakaumusten tasa-arvo VATA ry & Tampereen vapaa-ajattelijat ry: Church Resignation Forms Filed in Finland: Reasons for Resigning 2010-2017 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2018-09-21). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3236

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Äystö, Tuomas & Koivula, Aki & Wessman, Anna & Kyyrö, Jere & Hjelm, Titus (2022). Miksi suomalaiset eroavat evankelis-luterilaisesta kirkosta? Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 87 (2022):2, s. 129-140.