Finland Archives - Recovira

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Vietnamese Buddhist community in Finland

Posted on September 5, 2024 - 4:57 pm by Recovira

Katriina Hulkkonen and Linda Annunen, Åbo Akademi University

In the Recovira project, we examine the effects of the pandemic in three distinct types of religious communities: in a large, majority, or institutional community with extensive resources, in a firmly established minority community, and in a less established, often newer, community. In Finland, we chose the local Vietnamese Buddhist community for the project to represent the latter, i.e. newer, community. The Vietnamese Buddhist community is a rather small and rather recently established religious community with a quite modest level of organization. The community has been active in Finland since the 1980s (especially since the 90s) and at present host three temples in different parts of Southern Finland. Its estimated number of members is ca 6,400. (See Härkönen and Cairns 2023.)

For the research project, we interviewed members of the Vietnamese Buddhist community, such as the monk, and elderly members, and conducted participant observation at their most important annual celebrations. The community members emphasized the importance of their local temple. In the community, the activities focused specifically on gathering in the temple for prayer or annual celebrations. The construction of the temple in Finland was already significant for the community, as its purpose was to preserve the Vietnamese tradition for younger generations. Based on interview and observation data, the pandemic particularly affected the organization of community events.

Due to the pandemic, many religious communities examined by the Recovira project moved their rituals and social events to digital platforms. Instead, the local Vietnamese Buddhist community organized small-scale events face-to-face, in connection with some activities and within the limits of gathering restrictions at the temple. According to our interviewees, the community did not have unambiguous rules for who could participate in these events, but it was restricted to the active members of the community at the time. In addition to social effects, the restrictions on gatherings had negative economic impact for the temple community, which the other two communities in our project – The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and Jehovah’s Witnesses, did not experience to the same extent. Similar economic differences between mainstream and minority religions have also been observed in previous pandemic research. The temple we examined collected donations during large celebrations, so the decrease in the number of people participating in the temple events directly affected the community’s finances. For the community, this meant, for example, postponing some investments. After the pandemic, the community had sought to organize larger annual celebrations (e.g., the central Vu Lan festival) by investing in marketing and programming.

Sources:
Härkonen, Mitra, and Johannes Cairns (eds.) 2023. Buddhalaisuus Suomessa. Helsinki: Suomen Itämainen Seura.

Presenting the Recovira project at the joint conference of religious studies and theology

Posted on May 30, 2024 - 3:05 pm by Recovira

Katriina Hulkkonen and Linda Annunen, Åbo Akademi University

The biannual Research Conference in Theology and Religion was held in Turku on May 22–24. The conference was organized this year for the third time under the theme “Traditions and transitions. Milestones and continuities”. The conference brings together mainly Finnish researchers of religion who are interested in a wide variety of topics. We presented our Recovira research in the session “Seven keys in understanding lived religion”, chaired by Björn Vikström, Professor of Theology and Tomas Ray, University Teacher at Åbo Akademi University.

During the lived religion session, Ilona Blumgrund and Iiris Nikanne used interview materials to discuss the conversion of asylum seekers to Christianity. Both of their presentations raised questions in the audience about authenticity and the relationship between researcher and interlocutors. In her paper, Martina Björkander discussed what it is like to study lived theology in the case of the Pentecostal community. In addition, she challenged the audience to discuss what theological research is like or could be. Tomas Ray analysed Lutheran identity in multicultural Malaysia from the perspective of Nancy Ammerman’s characteristics of lived religion, and Anoo Niskanen examined identity motives in her own study on the Laestadian community. First, interest in themes related to belonging and everyday practices united all these presentations. Second, these papers highlighted certain kinds of creativity, such as the diversity of belonging or the creativity of theology and religious studies.

Our presentation “COVID-19 pandemic and ritual renewal in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland – digital solutions and improvisation” concluded this session. In our paper, we addressed creativity – in the case of institutional religion and ritual. We discussed the ritual renewal caused by the pandemic from the perspective of improvisation. Our analysis focused on Facebook nightly hymn singing sessions that one urban congregation launched during the pandemic. With the help of this example, we examined the development of digital ritual, and the reasons for its popularity, such as accessibility and homespun style. Finally, we discussed the aspects that limit the renewal of digital rituals. According to this evening broadcast case, the ritual renewal initiated by the pandemic was a process of improvisation that took place especially in relation to digital tools, religious traditions, different spaces, and resources, and gave rise to a ritual culture of mundanity and permissiveness.

The presentations of the session offered an interesting setting for the study of contemporary everyday religiosity. Afterwards, we reflected, for example, on how conference presentations could be built in a more conversational direction, and how the researcher’s own childhood experiences could in some cases provide a starting point for analysis. In addition, the session raised questions about the benefits and shortcomings of the concept of lived religion and the need for longer-term follow-up studies on some research topics.

Technology and the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Posted on May 18, 2024 - 5:15 pm by Recovira

Alexandra Berg, Åbo Akademi University

Alexandra Berg, first year student at Åbo Akademi University, has assisted the Finnish Recovira-team with participant observations for the projects’ aesthetic analysis. Here you can read about her observations and experiences when visiting the Jehovah’s Witnesses last winter.

Last year, in the gloomy midwinter, we went to visit the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were a well-dressed group of people, who treated us with warmth and consideration. We attended an event set in the Kingdom Hall’s main lecture hall; a large and bright room filled with dozens of people. I was excited and a bit nervous. I had never been to a Jehovah’s Witness event before. My nervousness proved to be unnecessary, because when we arrived everyone was hospitable and did their best to make us feel welcome.

I found it very interesting to notice how highly digitised the gathering was. There were two large TV screens in the front of the hall, angled downwards, so the audience could easily see them. The TVs were actively used during the sermon, displaying text or pictures relevant to the topic. At one point, everyone who was able to, stood up and sang together, and the lyrics were shown on the TV screens. The atmosphere in the room was relaxed. I got the impression that everyone was comfortable singing, and the songs were familiar to them. There was a separate desk in the room with computer monitors. Towards the end of the sermon, the congregation watched videos portraying scenarios one might encounter when doing mission work, and how to navigate certain situations.

The usage of mobile phones was highly encouraged during the lecture. Almost everyone had an app containing material and resources related to the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The event’s schedule and program were available in the app, as well as reading materials, such as Bible verses, think-pieces about life and faith, and issues of Watchtower. In an interactive section during the sermon, people received prompts on their apps, and they could answer questions posed in the app.

Various speakers spoke into microphones. There were microphones located by the individual seats. Many members of the audience took their turns to answer questions or give their insights. The sound was loud enough to be clearly heard, but at a comfortable volume suited to the hall’s size and acoustic capabilities.

I really enjoyed the event and meeting all the people. They were very friendly and happy to converse with me. I was surprised at the smooth incorporation of technology, and it was very intriguing to meet so many new people.

-Alexandra Berg

Researchers of Religion, Digital Media, and Rituals Met in Helsinki

Posted on March 19, 2024 - 8:03 am by Recovira

Katriina Hulkkonen, Linda Annunen and Ruth Illman, Åbo Akademi University

An international group of researchers interested in religion, digital media, rituals, and death gathered at the University of Helsinki on 13–15 March 2024. The seminar was jointly organized by the research projects Recovira and Digital Death, DiDe.

The seminar was opened on Wednesday 13 March by a keynote lecture delivered by Professor Douglas Davies of Durham University. His theme was “Death rites online and absent. Death ritual through virtual presence and literal absence: the paradox of live-streaming funerals and the absence of ritual in ‘direct cremation”. Davies’ presentation highlighted a ludic, or playful, attention to death and funerals. Play bends the rules in order to create something new, which becomes apparent especially in two funeral trends: the “no-fuss-funerals”, which are stripped of typical funeral aesthetics and traditions, and funerals carried out as a celebration of life. In this sense, rituals in times of change might bring forth ludicity that in turn allows for changes in funeral rituals.

Prof. Douglas Davies opened the seminar with a keynote lecture on the theme of death rituals in digital age. Prof. Joshua Edelman, PI of the Recovira team, responded with reflections on performativity and play. Image credit – Ruth Illman

The following day was reserved for a roundtable seminar where the researchers of Recovira and DiDe discussed their preliminary results in-depth. In the first roundtable session “Religious communities in digital contexts: Trends and transformations”, Henrik Reintoft Christensen and Alana Vincent talked about the current state of our Recovira project as well as the benefits and challenges of using survey data and social media materials. The presentations sparked discussion on how technology shapes religion and religious communities and how a critical approach could be formed within the Recovira project. In other words, how could our research better consider and critically examine the negative aspects of digitalization and the power structures that relate to it? The participants asked very interesting questions, for example: What is the position of commercial technology companies in the field of religion? What opportunities do religious communities have to respond to or resist increasing digitalization?

The second roundtable session of the afternoon focused on ritual changes, death, and grief. First, Dorthe Christensen discussed the perspective offered by the autoethnographic method to study digital death practices and grief. Terhi Utriainen then talked about various perspectives for examining death rituals. At the same time, she presented the forthcoming Handbook on Contemporary Death Rituals in Europe. The presentations gave rise to a lively discussion, where for example the definition and use of the concept of ritual was scrutinized. Is there an end to a ritual? Are classics, like the ritual theories of Victor Turner or Catherine Bell, still relevant today? Moreover, what kind of new theoretical tools do we need to study death rituals?

The day continued with an open panel discussion led by Professor Johanna Sumiala, PI of the DiDe team. The speakers were the author, columnist and pastor Hilkka Olkinuora, the funeral home entrepreneur Kyllikki Forsius, the director Hannu Mäkelä from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, the researcher Maija Butters from the University of Helsinkiand the Vantaa-based Imam Sharmarke Said Aw-Musse.

Death in Finland Today: the public panel discussion at the Think Corner drew a large audience both on-site and online. From left: Johanna Sumiala, Hilkka Olkinuora, Kyllikki Forsius, Hannu Mäkelä, Maija Butters and Sharmarke Said Aw-Musse.

During the conversation, the panelists offered different viewpoints on practices and attitudes toward death. They largely agreed that nowadays, the silent and natural death of an individual is hidden while the violence of death has received a lot of attention in the media, especially due to wars. The discussion highlighted the importance of funeral homes, bureaucracy, and the role of relatives in practical matters related to death. The panelists presented their views on the change in funeral customs in Finland. Based on the discussion, funerals have become more individual. The panelists’ views also resonate with our Finnish Recovira data, according to which in the case of the Lutheran Church, people want to arrange smaller funerals than before. However, the discussion also revealed that funerals are often large in the Muslim community. For example, community members not close to the deceased may also come to pray at the funeral. In addition, the panelists pondered, what kind of a place social media is for dealing with grief, how the fear of death is visible today’s Finland, and whether there should be more education related to death. Based on the discussion, death rituals are still important for communities, relatives and loved ones, as well as for the dying person her- or himself in dealing with death and grief. The panel discussion ended with the wish that people would be present for the dying person and talk more about mortality in general.

On Friday, both projects continued with internal project meetings. For the Recovira-team, this included planning a book that will focus on overlappings and differences expressed in the research data from all project countries. In addition to these more concrete plans for the Recovira project, for us members of the Finnish team, this three-day seminar offered interesting and different topics for reflection concerning, among other things, creativity, critical research on digitalisation and religion, the limits of the use of the concept of ritual, and people’s somewhat changed relationship with death.

Alustavia tutkimushavaintoja: tuttavallisuutta, turvaa ja turhautumista

Posted on January 15, 2024 - 3:00 pm by Recovira

Linda Annunen, Project Researcher, Åbo Akademi University

Tämä blogikirjoitus käsittelee keskeisiä havaintoja kenttätyössämme Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon tapaustutkimukseen liittyen. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin ja havainnointiin elämää koronan jälkeen erityisesti kahdessa seurakunnassa turun alueella.

Molemmat seurakunnat siirtyivät suuremmitta ongelmitta ripeästi virtuaaliseen ympäristöön heti pandemian ensimmäisestä aallosta lähtien. Virtuaalisten jumalanpalvelusten rinnalle, otettiin nopeasti mukaan myös sosiaalisen median tarjoamat mahdollisuudet. Virtuaalisia jumalanpalveluksia täydennettiin muun muassa verkossa katseltavissa olevilla keskusteluohjelmilla, virtuaalisilla pyhiinvaelluksilla, tai online-kahvitilaisuuksilla. Myös suurempia siirtymäriittejä, kuten rippileirejä, -kouluja ja hautajaisia toteutettiin verkon välityksellä.

Erityiseen asemaan nousivat haastateltavien kertomuksissa myös sosiaalisen median ns. uudet rituaalit, eli sellaiset rituaalit joita ei ennen pandemiaa harjoitettu yhdessä. Yksi tällainen suuren suosion saanut ”some-rituaali”, joka on jäänyt elämään korona-ajan jälkeen yhdessä seurakunnista, on iltavirsi ja -rukoustuokio Facebookissa. Kyseinen some-rituaali tarjosi seurakunnalle tilaisuuden luoda ja muokata toimintoja, joiden toivottiin myös vaikuttavan seurakuntaelämän identiteettiin ja muotoon, ja kokemukseen.

Facebook-liven kautta streamattavissa iltavirsi-tapahtumissa seurakuntalaiset laulavat yhden ennakkoon valitun virren ja rukoilevat iltarukouksen yhdessä. Tapahtumaa vetää yleensä yksi tai kaksi seurakunnan työntekijöistä, jonka lisäksi yksi vapaa-ehtoinen avustaja käy läpi ja vastaa tapahtuman aikana tuleviin kommentteihin. Iltavirsitapahtumat otettiin seurakunnassa suurella innolla vastaa ja ne ovat vakiinnuttaneet paikkansa joka torstai-iltaisena aktiviteettina.

Mitä tämän kaltaisen toiminnan seuraaminen voi kertoa meille pandemian vaikutuksista rituaaliseen elämään? Keskusteluissani seurakunnan työntekijöiden ja muiden jäsenten kanssa on selvää, että iltavirsien suureksi eduksi koettiin ennen kaikkea niiden mahdollistama kotoisuus ja tuttavallisuus. Seurakunnan työntekijät tekivät (erityisesti pandemia-aikana) iltavirsilähetyksiä usein omasta kodistaan, jolloin mukaan saattoi eksyä myös puolisoja, lapsia, tai lemmikkejä. Koska tilaisuudet olivat live-lähetyksiä, ilmassa oli erään haastateltavan sanoin aina sopivasti ”vaaran tuntua”. Mokaamista tai nuotinvierestä laulamista ei koettu uhkana, vaan ne olivat tärkeä osa tapahtuman luonnetta. Näin pandemia mahdollisti uudenlaisen epämuodollisen some-rituaalin muodostumisen, jossa keskiössä oli tuttavallisuus ja kotoisuus. Facebook-iltavirsien avulla seurakunnan päättävissä tehtävissä olevat, kuten kirkkoherra ja papit, loivat ja saivat uuden ”pehmeämmän auktoriteetin”. Tämän haastateltavat tulkitsivat yhdeksi syyksi iltavirsien suurelle suosiolle.

Toinen tärkeä haastatteluissa esiin noussut merkitys, joka tämän kaltaisilla matalan kynnyksen some-toiminnoilla kuvailtiin olevan, oli niiden helppo saavutettavuus. Koska tilaisuudet olivat käytännössä kenen tahansa ulottuvilla verkossa, ne nähtiin helposti lähestyttävinä ja helppona mahdollisuutena tutustua seurakunnan toimintaan. Tilaisuuden avoimuutta ei koettu huonona tai uhkaavana seurakunnalle. Monet seurakuntalaiset kertoivat tapahtuman suurista seuraajanumeroista ja siitä, kuinka chat-kommentit paljastivat ihmisten seuraavan lähetyksiä monista eri paikkakunnista ja ulkomailta. Näin seurakunnalle muodostui eräänlainen some-seurakunta, joka seurasi toimintaa aktiivisesti netissä, mutta syystä tai toisesta ei paikan päällä. Tilaisuudet tavoittivat myös erilaisia ryhmiä, joiden muuten olisi ollut hankalaa, mahdotonta tai pelottavaa osallistua toimintaan paikalla. Erityisesti vanhukset, joille kotoa poistuminen oli hankalaa löysivät some-toiminnan. Yksi seksuaalivähemmistöön kuuluva haastateltava kertoi some-rituaalien tarjonneen hänelle turvallisen tilan tutustua seurakunnan toimintaan ja saada vastuutehtäviä.

Voidaan siis todeta, että iltavirsi-tapahtumien kaltaiset uudet some-rituaalit koettiin selvästi positiivisena lisänä uskonnolliseen elämään. Erityisesti sen mahdollistamat uudenlaiset auktoriteetti käsitykset ja suhteet, sekä saavutettavuus saivat paljon kiitosta. Iltavirsi-tapahtumia ei kuitenkaan yksinomaan kuvailtu positiivisessa valossa. Osa haastateltavista huomautti, että sosiaalisen median ympäristössä harjoitettavat rituaalit eivät tavoittaneet nuorempia seurakuntalaisia, joiden koettiin toivovan kanssakäymistä kasvotusten. Tämän lisäksi osa seurakuntalaisista ilmaisivat turhautumista siitä, ettei korona-ajan sosiaaliseen mediaan siirtymisen jälkeen palattu yhtä toimivaan kanssakäymiseen kasvotusten, kuin ennen pandemiaa. Näissä kertomuksissa seurakuntatyöntekijöiden koettiin osittain ”piiloutuvan ruudun taakse”, kasvotusten kanssakäymisen kustannuksella. Lähes kaikki haastateltavat kertoivat korona-ajan jälkeen kaipaavansa kanssakäymistä kasvotusten. Kolmeen sanaan tiivistäen, voidaan todeta korona-ajan käynnistämien some-rituaalien tuovat tutkimuksen seurakuntalaisille tuttavallisuutta, turvaa ja turhautumista.

Image credit – Linda Annunen

National and local discourses of digitalization in an Evangelical Lutheran parish in Finland during the pandemic

Posted on August 24, 2023 - 8:00 am by Recovira

turku-cathedral-bell-tower-by-heikki-raisanen

A summary of my Master’s thesis conducted as part of ReCoViRa in Finland

Ossian Klingstedt, Åbo Akademi University

The aim of my thesis was to analyze the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s (ELCF) discourses on digital media during the COVID-19 pandemic. By applying the theoretical perspectives of mediatization, vicarious religion, and religious-social shaping of technology, I identified the specific discursive formations that were fundamental to the ELCF’s way of understanding and talking about digital media. In this light, I analyzed the ELCF’s adoption of digital tools during the spring of 2020 with a focus on its communication on both a national and a local level. The data analyzed consisted of a set of publications and information notices published by the ELCF both before and during the spring of 2020 (national level) as well as a group-interview conducted in 2023 with employees of the Swedish-speaking parish in Turku, Åbo svenska församling (local level).

My thesis shows how, at the national level, the ELCF’s communication regarding digital media was governed by specific discursive formations that depicted the church as a public utility and essential part of Finnish society – a “folk church” – while internally reproducing a notion of the church as being in a certain kind of existential crisis, due to e.g. membership loss and general disinterest in its activities and provisions. The ELCF drew on these discursive formations when justifying its use of digital media, arguing that, in a media-saturated society, it is necessary to extend activities and services to digital environments. In this, the ELCF’s official discourse includes clear elements of technological determinism, as the church sees adaptation to societal processes of digitalization as inevitable.

The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated this discourse of forced adaptation once it became clear for the ELCF that certain technical solutions would be a necessity for it to be able to have an active role in society during the crisis. At the beginning of the pandemic, the central task of the ELCF became to maintain its services, but in a way that prioritized safety and health. Thus, technological solutions, such as streamed church services and pastoral care through video calls, came into the picture, and were put into use with the aim of maintaining the ELCF’s self-identified mission as a “folk church”: even in exceptional circumstances, the argument went, the church must be available for those who need it. At the local level, it was felt that digital media provide good opportunities for expanding the church’s communicative reach and for participation even in restricting conditions, as attendance numbers in online church services surprisingly exceeded those of in-person services before the pandemic. The administration of the “virtual church”, however, also greatly increased the workload for specific employees instead of functioning as a well-integrated supplement to established offline practices. Furthermore, some ritual acts, such as the Eucharist in particular, were perceived as impossible to fully realize through current digital mediums. Local parish employees therefore made a clear qualitative distinction between the “online” and the “offline” church, although further integration of digital elements into everyday parish activities and services is to be expected in the near future.

Image credit – Heikki Raisanen: Turku Cathedral Bell Tower

Studying post-covid religion in Finland

Posted on July 4, 2023 - 12:28 pm by Recovira

Linda Annunen, Project Researcher, Åbo Akademi University

Looking back, different countries responded differently to the outbreak of the Covid19-pandemic in the spring of 2020. While Sweden took the most liberal stance of all countries in Europe, other countries like Spain introduced more extensive restrictions and lockdowns. Finland fell somewhere in between. Although Finland never had national lockdowns as such, movements and contacts were restricted to some extent. The date28th of March 2020 marks an important date in Finnish Covid-history, as the capital city Uusimaa-region was put in an enforced isolation that lasted 265 days. During this time, movement to and from the region was heavily restricted. Such restrictions on free movement in Finland are extremely uncommon, and the date can thus be viewed as a symbolic starting point for an era of Covid-19 in Finland.

The isolation also affected religious communities, many of which have their headquarters in the capital region. Religious communities were, however, exempt from some of the restrictions on contacts and gatherings. Memories of social distancing frequently come up in our ethnographic fieldwork, as people reflect on the ways in which their religious lives have continued since the pandemic. We have so far mainly engaged with people in relation to one of our three case studies: the Evangelical Lutheran church of Finland (ELCF), which represents the largest and most established of the three communities that we focus on. Many of our interlocutors from the ELCF have expressed gratitude over the fact that social distancing no longer regulates how they practice religion. However, the ethnographic data also suggests that something more positive might have come out of the restrictions, namely new ways of conducting for example religious work life, the introduction and establishment of new rituals on social media, and in some cases new ways of thinking about religious life that are primarily formed and affected by digitalization. We have talked to people in many different roles, including people who work in ELCF administration, priests who work especially with social media, church youth workers, a cantor, and a group of senior church members called the “social media grannies”. Being able to study one community from many different angles has also provided us with a nuanced picture of the specific ways in which the pandemic affected particular groups across particular parishes.

We look to finalize our fieldwork within the ELCF in August and to continue with our case study 2: Jehovah’s Witnesses. This will no doubt provide us with just as many additional intriguing insights into the ritual lives of religious communities in post-pandemic Finland. The last of our ethnographic case studies focuses on a Buddhist community and will provides us with insights into how non-established minority groups were affected by Covid19. Together, our three cases will provide us with a good basis for comparison on both a national and pan-national level.

Image credit – Linda Annunen: A rectory / Pappila in Finland