Changing values and religiosity: the case of the emerging Community movement in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland

Abstract

Contrary to earlier assumptions, not (only) is religion declining in modern societies, it is taking new roles in the complex development of (late) modern societies. In empirical studies on values, religiosity has been connected primarily to traditionalist value patterns that highlight stability, traditionality and security. This article, focusing on data collected from members of a renewal movement in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Finland (N=529), addresses how the 10 universal values in Schwartz's Value Theory relate to their religiosity and theological orientations. The results of the study imply that there are several religious value patterns, and not just one. Differences in theological orientation as well as other aspects of religious belief and participation proved to have an effect on the patterns. These findings open up new directions for the study of religion, spirituality and values.

Emerging Patterns of Church Participation. The Community Movement in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland

“…On the level of the Church and religious movements, the community movement represents a type of Church renewaloriented aimed at renewing Church life and also reviving spirituality in the Church. Theologically they represent a more conservative but inclusive type, which might be related to the influence of the Charismatic movement (see also Hannikainen 2020). The inclusiveness of the community process as well as the connection of the experiential type of participation with more liberal views implies that the community movement is in some measure capable of staying outside of the liberalconservative division that is deepening in the overall picture of the ELCF.…”