Background information concerning Prosecutor vs Päivi Räsänen and Juhana Pohjola
Päivi Räsänen’s response to the charges
Dr Päivi Räsänen, MP, denies all charges. Dr Räsänen has not defamed homosexual people on the basis of their sexual orientation.
The grounds for denial summarised by items of the charges:
(Click the titles for information)
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The text in Item 1 is part of a series of educational materials for members of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (LHPK/ELMDF) on fundamental issues of Christian doctrine. Dr Päivi Räsänen, while serving as a Member of Parliament for the Christian Democrats in Finland, at the request of the Luther Foundation Finland, wrote the booklet Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity. [link] (Printer: Myllypaino, Leväsjoki 2004) It was published first on the Luther Foundation Finland [link] and LHPK websites [link] and later on the defendant's website.
The booklet is an opinion piece based on belief and conviction, ecclesiastical affairs and spiritual matters. It therefore falls within the so-called core area of the freedom of expression by virtue of its association with the freedom of religion.
In Finland, the Act on Registered Partnerships (950/2001), which entered into force on 1 March 2002, allows same-sex couples aged 18 and over to formalise and register their partnership. As the booklet deals with the subject of the reform of the law, and as its author is a sitting Member of Parliament, this booklet then also falls within the core area of the freedom of expression because of its strong political connection. -
On 17 June 2019, Dr Räsänen published a tweet on her personal Twitter account with an excerpt from Romans chapter 1, verses 24-27 accompanied by the following:
"The Church has announced that it will be an official partner of Seta [the Finnish Organ for Sexual Equality] Pride 2019. How does the doctrinal foundation of the Church, ie. the Bible, fit together with the idea that shame and sin can be elevated to be the object of pride?" [link]
This text was hashtagged with pride2019, raamattu [Bible], evlutkirkko [Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland] and room1:24-27 [Rom 1:24-27].
This Twitter upload is part of a broader public dialogue with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, including, in addition to the tweet, a blog update on Päivi Räsänen's website on 18 June 2019, and an open letter to Archbishop Tapio Luoma (Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland). This letter also presents the statement of the Twitter upload and provides background by reiterating that Dr Räsänen's statements are not based on any discriminatory intent, but on religious belief and conviction.
The focus of the Twitter upload is thus not sexual minorities, but the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, whose participation in the event was the subject of the upload. The Twitter upload was made shortly after Päivi Räsänen placed initiatives in the agendas of the Riihimäki Church Council and the Riihimäki Municipal Council. These two indicate the tweets' more specific motive – just as in the booklet in Item 1 – an ecumenical Christian and ecclesiological worldview. The Twitter upload is also part of a broader social debate in which the defendant has expressed her political view that the NGO Seta has been given too much influence in public administration in relation to the actual grassroots support it enjoys. Päivi Räsänen's views are supported not only in ecclesiastical circles, as evidenced, inter alia, by the fact that the official view on marriage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is in line with Päivi Räsänen's. Her views have broad support, as evidenced by the fact that there was not unanimity on participation in Pride Week in the city of Riihimäki (Räsänen's home town) in the year of the event, but the matter had to be put to a vote. The opinions she is accused for holding are also quite ordinary, certainly not intensely extremist viewpoints intended to covertly denigrate or slander minorities. -
DescriptiPäivi Räsänen had been a guest on the Yle Puhe radio programme hosted by cultural influencer Ruben Stiller on 20 December 2019, together with writer-pastor Kai Sadinmaa. The guests were invited to the programme because of their clearly divergent opinions on the Bible and sexuality. This is illustrated by the fact that Kai Sadinmaa is known as among the first priests in Finland to have married a same-sex couple, while Päivi Räsänen has been a vocal critic of the gender-neutral marriage law. The programme had been designed to juxtapose these differing positions in a lightly humorous style.
In the section leading up to the charges [39:00-42:00], Ruben Stiller challenged Päivi Räsänen on whether she would change her views if sexual orientation could be explained genetically. The issue is presented in a humorous manner, typical of light entertainment.
In response to this ethical-philosophical question, Päivi Räsänen stated that her understanding is that genetic inheritance in homosexuality is quite small, but that from a broader philosophical point of view, human genetic inheritance is not the same as it was at the beginning of time. In this area of the subject, the guests engaged in respectful but humorous discussion.
In the programme, Päivi Räsänen protested against limiting the 'sin debate' to homosexuals, and stressed that sexual minorities are 'sinners before God' in the very same way as the rest of the population, and that therefore no comparisons should be made between various groups. In the same context, Päivi Räsänen spoke about members of sexual minorities who are her neighbours, her friends.
It is clear from Päivi Räsänen's discussion that she tried to offer Ruben Stiller a response that was factual, respectful of minorities and at the same time honest to her own beliefs and convictions, ie. sufficiently consistent. To avoid misunderstandings, Päivi Räsänen explained the religious bases of her views in detail (on creation, sin, the Bible, etc.). Among the key premises is that, in her view, sexual behaviour of all kinds is based more on self-determination than genetics, and that there are often many things to be corrected in people's choices. A large part of the programme was devoted to the introduction of Päivi Räsänen's views, which is why she, the accused, is not presented until 40 minutes after the start.
Given the context, neither Päivi Räsänen's opinion nor the way in which it was presented was likely to arouse contempt, intolerance or hatred towards homosexuals.
Päivi Räsänen appeared on an entertainment programme in which she was good-naturedly challenged on religious issues. In the same context, she spoke about issues such as equality for sexual minorities and her neighbours, friends who belong to sexual minorities. Under these circumstances, Päivi Räsänen could not have considered it likely that any of the opinions she expressed would threaten, defame or insult sexual minorities.
The programme is available on YLE Areena streaming service. [link] on text goes here
In particular, in relation to counts 1 and 4 of the indictment, Päivi Räsänen has made a detailed case for the importance of equality for sexual minorities and respect for these minorities. Both her viewpoints included in the charges and the quite extensive background she has put forth on the importance of equality, these are based on the defendant's deep religious, Christian beliefs and convictions.
The prosecutor makes a number of false, inaccurate, even untrue allegations about Räsänen's views. According to the prosecutor, Päivi Räsänen's view is that "homosexuals are not created by God as heterosexuals are." Nowhere has Dr Räsänen said such a thing. Dr Räsänen stresses that she has repeatedly emphasised that all human beings are created in the image of God and have equal dignity and human rights. In the passage to which the prosecutor refers, reference was made to the biblical account of creation. Referring to it, Dr Räsänen stated: “In the beginning, God did not create human beings homosexual. God created humans heterosexual. He created a man and a woman and intended marriage to be between the two."
Contrary to what the prosecutor claims, in the Ruben Stiller radio discussion programme, Dr Räsänen did not call homosexuality a genetic degeneration or a disease-causing genetic inheritance. On the contrary, she rejected the idea of homosexuality as a genetic trait, a claim that was suggested by the host of the discussion programme, saying that the most recent studies have shown the possible genetic inheritance in homosexuality to be small.
Furthermore, the prosecutor claims that, according to Päivi Räsänen, the tendency to sexually abuse children is an inescapable characteristic of homosexuality. Dr Räsänen has not said this and does not think so.
Furthermore, the prosecutor claims Päivi Räsänen regards homosexuals as inferior human beings. Dr Räsänen regards homosexuals as fully equal humans and, in addition, equally worthy human beings created in the image of God.
The points of view for which Päivi Räsänen is accused do not deviate from so-called classical Christianity, nor does the defendant's view on marriage deviate from the official policy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Since Christianity is the dominant (state) religion in Finland, it is reasonable to assume that views such as those of the accused are widely disseminated in religious communities in Finland – in social media as well as in private events. Likewise, the prosecutor's interpretation would have a material impact on the narrowing of the scope of religious freedom in Finland – and is therefore highly damaging from the perspective of fundamental rights.
Items to be prosecuted:
A. Päivi RäsänenThe prosecutor demands that Päivi Räsänen be punished for three different acts, each of which is punishable as incitement against a group (Chapter 11, Section 10 of the Criminal Code).
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Date and place of the offence: 1 June 2011 – 29 April 2021 Helsinki
Charge as set out in the indictment:
Dr Päivi Räsänen, while serving as a Member of Parliament for the Christian Democrats in Finland, at the request of the Luther Foundation Finland, wrote the booklet Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity. (Printer: Myllypaino, Leväsjoki 2004) The article was then published with Räsänen's permission on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland luthersaatio.fi and on the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland lhpk.fi.On 4 November 2019, Räsänen circulated the article on her Facebook page. On 21 February 2020, the article was also published on Räsänen's own website paivirasanen.fi. Räsänen is a well-known Member of Parliament and several thousand people follow her social media accounts.
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Date and place of the offence: 17 June 2019 – 29 April 2021 Helsinki
Charge as set out in the indictment:
Päivi Räsänen, while serving as a Member of Parliament for the Christian Democrats in Finland, published the following text on her @PaiviRasanen Twitter account, @p-rasanen Instagram account and Päivi Räsänen Facebook page. "The Church has announced that it will be an official partner of Seta [the Finnish Organ for Sexual Equality] Pride 2019. How does the doctrinal foundation of the Church, ie. the Bible, fit together with the idea that shame and sin can be elevated to be the object of pride?" Räsänen attached a picture of a biblical text from the New Testament, Romans chapter 1, verses 24-27.Following the publications made on 17 June 2019, Päivi Räsänen has further disseminated the publication described above on Twitter on 13 August 2019 and 23 August 2019. Päivi Räsänen is a well-known Member of Parliament and several thousand people follow her social media accounts.
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Date and place of the offence: 20 December 2019 Helsinki
Charge as set out in the indictment:
Päivi Räsänen, while serving as a Member of Parliament for the Christian Democrats in Finland, made the following statement on the Yle Puhe [government-owned Finnish Broadcasting Corporation] radio channel programme in a segment entitled "What did Jesus think about homosexuals?", hosted by Ruben Stiller. "First of all, the most recent studies have shown that the possible genetic inheritance in homosexuality is quite small. But on the other hand, the human genetic heritage has also degenerated over the millennia and the history of mankind, so it is not necessarily what it was when we were created."(Stiller: "So it's degeneration, isn't it?")
Räsänen: "So I mean, we've had all sorts of things that are so different that can that cause disease and disruption of the genetic heritage that, that can… well, now I'm not comparing alcoholism and homosexuality, but I'm saying that we do know that certain genetic factors can, you know, affect the onset of alcoholism. Some people have that kind of genetic heritage that they are more susceptible to becoming alcoholics. And so… in a similar way I would think that it's possible that some genetic heritage…”
Räsänen: "But when you specifically ask about this genetic heritage. But yes, I think it's quite clear that God didn't originally create people to be homosexual. He created them to be heterosexual. He created a man and a woman and intended for marriage to be between the two, And it's clearly against God's will and sin, if we are in any other sexual relationships."
B. Juhana PohjolaThe prosecutor demands that Juhana Pohjola be punished for incitement against a group.
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(Chapter 11, Section 10 of the Criminal Code)
Date and place of the offence: 1 June 2011 – 29 April 2021 Helsinki
Charge as set out in the indictment:
As the representative and board member of the Luther Foundation Finland, as the Diocesan Dean of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland and as the person responsible for the Aamutähti [Morning Star] publication series as well as the diocesan website, Rev. Pohjola published Dr Päivi Räsänen's Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity. (Printer: Myllypaino, Leväsjoki 2004) He is responsible for publishing the booklet on the Luther Foundation Finland's website luthersaatio.fi and on the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland lhpk.fi.
THE PROVISION OF THE CRIMINAL CODE ON WHICH THE CHARGES ARE BASED:
Chapter 11 (11.4.2008/212)
War crimes and crimes against humanity
Section 10 (13.5.2011/511)
Incitement against an ethnic group
Translation from Finnish, legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish
Ministry of Justice, Finland
The Criminal Code of Finland (39/1889, amendments up to 766/2015 included)
Chapter 11 – War crimes and crimes against humanity (212/2008)
Section 10(a) – Aggravated ethnic agitation (511/2011) If the ethnic agitation involves incitement or enticement (1) to genocide or the preparation of genocide, a crime against humanity, an aggravated crime against humanity, a war crime, an aggravated war crime, murder, or manslaughter committed for terrorist intent, or (2) to serious violence other than what is referred to in paragraph 1 so that the act clearly endangers public order and safety, and the ethnic agitation also when assessed as a whole is aggravated, the offender shall be sentenced for aggravated ethnic agitation to imprisonment for at least four months and at most four years.