Study title

Parish Support to Asylum Seekers 2016

Dataset ID Number

FSD3264

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3264

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Church Research Institute
• Siirto, Ulla (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)
• Niemi, Hanna (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)

Abstract

This survey study charted support provided to asylum seekers by Finnish Evangelical Lutheran parishes during and after the 2015 mass influx of people seeking asylum in Finland. Themes included types of immigrant work done in the parish, practices, challenges, and cooperation with other groups. Respondents were employees of parishes responsible for asylum seeker support services.

First, the respondents were asked about reception centres in the parish region as well as the types of support that the parish provided to asylum seekers in the autumn of 2015 and provides currently (e.g. temporary lodging, leisure time activities, work, language teaching). The type and duration of temporary accommodation needed in the parish area was charted in more detail. The respondents were also asked whether the parish had done immigrant work before the autumn of 2015.

The next questions concerned voluntary workers and organisations participating in supporting asylum seekers. It was charted which organisations the parish collaborated with in providing support to asylum seekers (e.g. municipality, Finnish Immigration Service, Finnish Red Cross, Pentecostal Church). Respondents were also enquired about parish employees participating in support provided to asylum seekers, the number of voluntary workers involved, work tasks of volunteers, asylum work funding, and organisation of interpreting work. Attitudes of different groups toward asylum work of the parish were also examined, as well as whether the parish had focused enough efforts on bringing asylum seekers and native Finns together. In addition, the respondents' views were charted on success and problems in providing help to asylum seekers.

Conflicts arising in the support provided to asylum seekers by the parish were also charted relating to, for instance, cultural differences, gender, language, and child-rearing. Finally, respondents were asked about asylum seeker participation in religious events of the parish as well as whether asylum work had had an effect on the practices of the parish. For instance, questions examined which church events asylum seekers had attended and whether immigrant work had brought new elements into parish activities.

Background variables included, for instance, the respondent's job title, size of the parish, and diocese to which the parish belonged.

Keywords

asylum seekers; church; cooperation; refugees; religion; religious attendance; religious personnel; social support; voluntary work

Topic Classification

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

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Church Research Institute
• Siirto, Ulla (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)
• Niemi, Hanna (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences)

Time Period Covered

2016

Collection Dates

2016-08-29 – 2016-09-16

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Organization/Institution

Universe

Contact persons for immigrant work at parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

The sample includes all parishes subscribed to the electronic mailing list of a national multiculturalism project. A link to the questionnaire was sent by e-mail.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

24

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

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

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of individuals, uncategorised variables K1 and K2 concerning the respondent's job title and size of the respondent's parish were removed and replaced with categorised variables tausta1 and tausta2. Additionally, open-ended responses of the type "other, please specify" were removed from the variables concerning job title (k1a), which employees had participated in asylum seeker work (k15_24), different groups' attitudes toward asylum seeker work (k26_Fa), and a general comment variable (t41). The remaining open-ended responses were processed during archiving, and information enabling the identification of individuals was removed (e.g. names of municipalities).

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

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

Church Research Institute & Siirto, Ulla (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) & Niemi, Hanna (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences): Parish Support to Asylum Seekers 2016 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2019-07-12). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3264

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

Hanna Niemi & Ulla Siirto (2017). Hätämajoituksesta Aleppon kelloihin. Kirkon tutkimuskeskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 49.