Development between boys and girls has diverged in both religiosity and wellbeing in Finland. Extensive data collected from Lutheran youth clearly indicate a deterioration in a sense of wellbeing and distancing from religious faith among girls. Meanwhile, wellbeing among boys has remained stable and religiosity has gained strength. Boys are also more likely to find church confirmation preparation to be spiritually enriching than girls. This runs contrary to the results of previous studies.
A research article by Kati Tervo-Niemelä, Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Eastern Finland and Lector Jouko Porkka of Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak), examines changes that have occurred in wellbeing and religiosity of young people and how those changes are interlinked based on material from 77,000 Lutheran youth. The data are collected from young confirmands aged 14 to 15 and young confirmed volunteers (YCVs), mostly aged 16-18 in 2019–2022 in Finland. The extensive material provides a reliable base for examining the phenomena. In Finland about 75 percent of all teenagers are confirmed annually in the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Exceptional levels of religiosity among young men
Women are more religious than men in nearly all countries. However, findings from this study indicate that the stronger religiosity among women is no longer reflected in young Finns. On the contrary, young boys have overtaken young girls in religiosity. Women are more religious than men in all other age groups in Finland. Young boys are also more religious than they were before.
“So far, the focus of research has mostly been on why women are distancing themselves from the church and religiosity. However, reasons why men are feeling closer to faith is theme that is at least as interesting. This is something that would be important to study thoroughly”, Kati Tervo-Niemelä says.
So far, the focus of research has mostly been on why women are distancing themselves from the church and religiosity. However, reasons why men are feeling closer to faith is theme that is at least as interesting.
Kati Tervo-Niemelä
Professor
Religion boosts wellbeing
The fresh study indicates a positive correlation between religiosity and wellbeing. Religious young people are happier than non-religious young people. The connection is especially clear among girls. The material suggests that confirmation time is also a factor that reinforces wellbeing. The strengthening of a sense of wellbeing during confirmation time is not only the result of spending time with other young people; the teens also feel that the spiritual life advanced in confirmation preparation boosts their mental wellbeing,
“The link between religiosity and wellbeing is significant, compared with claims frequently seen in the media raising the negative effects of religion in the upbringing of children. Naturally, the negative experiences must not be swept under the rug, but religion is much more frequently a factor that strengthens wellbeing both from the point of young people and the home”, Tervo-Niemelä says.
One explanation for this is linked with close family ties. The study shows that human relationships in religious families are closer on average than those in non-religious families. Those who were brought up in religious homes also describe their childhoods as having been happier than those whose homes were non-religious. Tervo-Niemelä says that the presence of religious communities supports wellbeing in a similar manner.
More research is needed
According to the researchers, the results raise many new questions. One of the greatest is to what degree the phenomena of the weakening of a sense of wellbeing and religiosity among girls are interlinked.
Although caring for the weakest and walking alongside those who are suffering are at the core of the message of Christianity, the research materials indicate in many ways that the church activities, religiosity, and confirmation time are most easily accepted by young people who are already doing well.
Reaching a young person who feels bad is much more difficult. The phenomenon is referred to as the Matthew Effect.
“Has the deterioration of wellbeing among girls led to a situation in which they no longer find confirmation time and spirituality to be appealing and meeting their life situation, or is there an opposite trend involved – that the weakening of religiosity among girls has also led to a decline in wellbeing?”
According to the researchers, deeper study is still needed on these matters.
Article information:
Tervo-Niemelä, K., & Porkka, J. (2023). Does religion contribute to youth wellbeing? A longitudinal study of faith, wellbeing and the confirmation process among Finnish Lutheran youth – A gender perspective. Uskonto, katsomus ja kasvatus, 3(1), 10–27. https://journal.fi/ukk/article/view/141485
