In Finland, young people’s belief in God continues to grow. This is shown by the results of the study among young people in confirmation preparation in 2025. This year, 67 percent of boys believed in the existence of God, compared to 56 percent of girls.

The percentage has grown explosively among boys in particular, as in 2019 only 36 percent said they believed in God. The corresponding figure for girls was 35 percent.

This is not a question of general religiosity, but specifically of Christian faith. Almost as many believe in the resurrection of Jesus as in the existence of God: 64 percent of boys and 52 percent of girls.

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion, on your WhatsApp.

“We are on the verge of something interesting, and we don't fully understand what it is. But the change is so drastic that it is definitely visible in the world of young people,” says Jouko Porkka, Doctor of Theology, who analyzed the research data.

Porkka retired a couple of years ago from his position as a lecturer and researcher at Diaconia University of Applied Sciences and now works as an independent researcher. He has been conducting confirmation class research for over twenty years.

Boys’ faith grew during the coronavirus pandemic

Comparable research data on Finnish confirmation preparations has been available since the first decade of the 2000s. Since 2019, the survey has been repeated annually in roughly the same form.

Boys’ faith in God and Jesus began to grow during the covid pandemic in 2021. For girls, the growth began a couple of years later.

“Today, boys in confirmation preparation are much more religious than girls. This has been the case for five years,” says Jouko Porkka.

When comparing this year’s survey results with the 2008 data, it can be seen that belief in Jesus’ resurrection is now at roughly the same level as it was then, and even slightly higher among boys. In 2008, 56 percent of both boys and girls believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.

However, at the beginning of the 2010s, the figures began to decline sharply.

“At that time, we experienced a strong trend toward secularization. Over the course of five years, there was a sharp decline, so that by 2013, only 39 percent of boys and 38 percent of girls believed in Jesus’ resurrection.”

Religious rearing does not explain the increase

When Jouko Porkka visits parishes to present the latest confirmation class survey results, they cause astonishment.

“People ask me how this is possible, given that there has been no change whatsoever in parish activities. There has been no change in religious rearing either. There must be some other factor at work here.”

The research data is reliable, as 12,000 to 23,000 confirmands have participated in the survey annually since 2019, representing 25 to 43 percent of all confirmands. This year’s survey had as many as 23,725 young respondents.

Approximately 75 percent of Finnish youth attend confirmation classes.

Should confirmation classes be marketed differently?

Young people feel that confirmation classes have a positive effect on their well-being. It is not just a matter of community spirit; spiritual activities in particular have an impact on their well-being.

“Belonging to a community that prays, has a certain regularity, and where everyone is considered to be doing well reduces loneliness and increases well-being,” says Jouko Porkka.

According to studies, many things in young people’s lives change for the better during confirmation classes. However, the crucial question is whether young people will continue to be involved in the parish after confirmation.

“If they do not participate in parish activities after confirmation, they will very quickly return to the situation they were in before confirmation class. Connection to the parish is a crucial factor. A lone tree does not burn.”

Best if people of different ages learned from each other

What should congregations do in a situation where young people are longing for spirituality?

“That’s an incredibly big question. Our congregations would be quite different if we took young people’s desire to find a place in the congregation seriously,” says Jouko Porkka.

“If we started from the premise of what kind of togetherness young people need, it would inevitably challenge our worship life.”

It is an internationally recognized phenomenon that congregations organize separate activities for different age groups, often with great success.

“But the most effective and best thing would be to have activities that people of different ages would enjoy coming together for and learning from each other. Adults and seniors would certainly like it if young people came to the church. Young people, on the other hand, need role models and examples of mature Christianity.”

According to Jouko Porkka, there is a danger that young people’s interest will turn to disappointment at some point if parishes are unable to offer them a place and a sense of belonging.

“New worship communities are one answer to this. But could ordinary parish activities also be similar? Let's welcome enthusiastic young people,” suggests Porkka, who has been working as a parish priest for twenty years.

What explains young people’s interest?

New confirmation students are more interested in Christianity than ever before. Boys are more religious than girls. Young people in cities are more religious than those in rural areas. What is this phenomenon all about? Jouko Porkka and Kati Tervo-Niemelä, professor of practical theology, have presented possible explanations in the scientific publication Uskonto, katsomus ja kasvatus (Religion, Worldview, and Education, 1/2024), which should be further investigated in later studies. Here are a few of the explanations in summary:

Is Christianity a new counterculture?

Irreligion is most common among men aged 40–50. For them, atheism was a counterculture. Are today's young people rebelling against this irreligion?

Do the conservative values and religiosity of young men go hand in hand?

Young men have more conservative values than young women. Do young men feel that conservative religion gives clarity to life, supports masculinity, and traditional gender roles?

Are boys nowadays more suitable for confirmation preparation than girls?

Girls reach puberty earlier than boys, and puberty has become earlier. The culture of confirmation classes is largely based on playing and having fun together. Is this more familiar to boys today?

Have changes in the security climate and increased uncertainty fuelled religiosity, especially among boys?

The covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have increased uncertainty and destabilized the security climate. Uncertainty has been found to increase religiosity.

Are global religiosity and social media fuelling religiosity among young people?

More and more celebrities followed by young people are talking about their faith in the media. Young people living in global communication networks encounter the world of religious young people.

Is the trend toward secularization reversing?

When the general level of religiosity falls low enough, it creates opportunities for a rise in religiosity more easily than when the starting level is high.

Does the more religiously multicultural atmosphere of cities strengthen the religiosity of young people?

The most religious confirmands are found in the central areas of cities. Cities are also the areas with the highest number of immigrants. Is the religious atmosphere in cities conducive to strengthening the religiosity of young people?

This article was first published by Uusi Tie, translated and re-published with permission.

[analysis]

[title]Join us to make EF sustainable[/title]

[photo][/photo]

[text]At Evangelical Focus, we have a sustainability challenge ahead. We invite you to join those across Europe and beyond who are committed with our mission. Together, we will ensure the continuity of Evangelical Focus and our Spanish partner Protestante Digital in 2025.

Learn all about our #TogetherInThisMission initiative here (English).

[/text][/analysis]