Räsanen is married to a Lutheran pastor, and admits that the thought of resigning her membership of the Finnish Lutheran Church went through her mind at some point in the last weeks. But “as I prayed”, she explains, “I was convinced that now is the time to try to wake up the sleeping ones, not to jump out of a sinking boat”.

“The more we keep silent about difficult and controversial topical themes, the narrower the space for freedom of speech and religion gets”, says Päivi Räsänen, a Christian politician that has been a member of the Parliament of Finland for almost 15 years.

Räsänen spoke to Evangelical Focus after she made headlines in both national and international media when it was known that the police investigated a post on social media in which she quoted the Bible to criticise the participation of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church – of which she is a member – in this year’s LGBT Pride festival.

The medical doctor, mother of five, and former Minister of the Interior (2011-15) is a committed Christian.

She thinks the case against her will be dropped. “I have a completely calm mind about this. I am going to use my freedom to believe and to speak accordingly, whatever the outcome of this process may be”.

But her worries have to do with the role of Bible-believing Christians in the public debates. “Many, especially the young people, are afraid that if you are labelled as a Bible-believing Christian, it will hinder your career and social acceptance”, she says.

Räsanen is married to a Lutheran pastor, and admits that the thought of resigning her membership of the Finnish Lutheran Church went through her mind at some point in the last weeks. But “as I prayed”, she explains, “I was convinced that now is the time to try to wake up the sleeping ones, not to jump out of a sinking boat”.

“I see it as a wonderful privilege that so many are praying for me and my family”, the leader of the Finnish Christian Democrats party says. “It is amazing that so many on the other side of the world are praying for Finland, my home country”.

Read the full interview with Päivi Räsänen below.

Question. Some weeks ago, you said you were concerned that Christians who believe in the Bible would be tempted to “censor” their faith. Why?

Answer. Freedom of religion is in principle strongly guaranteed and protected both in our Constitution and in the International Human Right Treaties. In practice, a major threat for the freedom of religion is that we don’t use this right. Many, especially the young people, are afraid that if you are labelled as a Bible-believing Christian, it will hinder your career and social acceptance.

Q. From the outside, it is difficult to understand that in a historically Protestant country like Finland (with a Lutheran Church to which belong more than 60% of the citizens) a majority would react so strongly against politicians who quote the Bible and hold to a Christian worldview. What is the key we’re missing to understand where the Finnish society stands at this point?

A. We are living at a time when the effect of Christian culture on society is narrowing. Although many Finns still belong to Christian churches and denominations, the basic teachings of the Christian faith are no longer views of the majority.

The breaking of the Christian worldview is visible both in the societal discussions and in the decision making, whether we are thinking of pro-life issues and the protection of life both in the beginning and in the end of life, or views related to marriage.

Having a traditional view of marriage has become a politically incorrect view in public discussions. However, many Finns do still understand and support the Christian worldview.

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