Rural Development as a Frame Analytic Challenge for Religious Communities: The Case of Rural Parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Abstract

English In many parts of the European countryside religious communities are facing serious challenges caused by changing social structures. This is also the case with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran parishes that are in many ways affected by migration from the countryside to city areas. This development has increased pressures on the Church and its parishes to take a stand in favour of rural development policies and to contribute to the attempts to maintain and enhance the viability of rural areas. This kind of involvement is by no means self-evident because the Church has traditionally occupied a neutral and guarded position in relation to political questions. In this article the authors examine how the congregational employees deal with this potential tension and view the role of parishes, on one hand, as rural actors, and, on the other, as religious actors. French À travers toute l’Europe, les communautés religieuses rurales font face à d’importants défis dus à l’évolution constante des structures sociales. L’église évangélique luthérienne de Finlande n’échappe pas à ces défis qui émanent des flux migratoires des campagnes vers les centres urbains. Ce mouvement migratoire a intensifié les pressions sur l’église et sur ses paroisses afin d’instaurer des règles de développement rural et ainsi contribuer à maintenir et à améliorer la viabilité des zones rurales. L’engagement de l’église n’est en aucun cas trivial car de tout temps l’église a voulu maintenir une relation neutre et protégée par rapport aux questions politiques. Dans cet article, les auteurs examinent comment les congrégations réagissent à ces pressions et tensions, puis établissent le role des paroisses comme acteurs au sein des zones rurales, dans un premier temps, et comme acteurs religieux, dans un second temps.

More than employment: Belonging and boundary construction among immigrants in rural Finland

“…Moreover, religion operates in the spheres of traditions, the meaning of life, and the sacred and profane, and it can reach beyond the present world to the supernatural. In Finland, despite deep secularisation and decreasing church membership, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and its traditions have a long and significant position in Finnish society (Pesonen & Vesala 2007;Ketola et al 2017). The Church is still important, especially in rural communities, where attendance is higher than in urban areas (Pesonen & Vesala 2007).…”

“…In Finland, despite deep secularisation and decreasing church membership, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and its traditions have a long and significant position in Finnish society (Pesonen & Vesala 2007;Ketola et al 2017). The Church is still important, especially in rural communities, where attendance is higher than in urban areas (Pesonen & Vesala 2007). At the same time, this means that there is little religious variation in rural areas, and because of that, finding belonging within the sphere of religion can become a complex task.…”

“…This creative aspect of boundary work was seen when the interviewees modified boundaries in different ways. The prominent role of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and its traditions in rural areas (Pesonen & Vesala 2007;Ketola et al 2017) frames opportunities to practise various forms of different religions. However, the interviewees approached these boundaries by highlighting flexibility and understanding, and by expanding their personal boundaries in a way that deemphasised differences and instead created similarities.…”

Reframing Patient’s Autonomy in End-of-Life Care Decision-Making: Constructions of Agency in Interviews with Physicians

“…Analyzing argumentation as framing combines ideas from rhetorical social psychology (Billig 1996) with frame analysis (Pesonen and Vesala 2007). As Goffman (1986) points out, framings can be contested and frames disputed, which implies that argumentation about frames is a relevant window for framings.…”

“…As Goffman (1986) points out, framings can be contested and frames disputed, which implies that argumentation about frames is a relevant window for framings. Furthermore, one commonplace for supporting a critical stance towards a given framing is an alternative frame (Pesonen and Vesala 2007). According to Manning (1992), one of Goffman's aims was to identify the lamination of frames, that is, how meanings are often constructed through the superimposition of frames.…”