Christian Condemnations of LGBT Not Hate Speech in Finland, Court Rules

Author - Umn ministry

March 31, 2022

A politician who tweeted Romans 1:24-27 and a bishop who published a pamphlet win unanimous decision.

Helsinki district court judges have dismissed hate speech charges against Finnish politician who tweeted out Bible verses and the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission who published a pamphlet on gender roles.

In a unanimous decision, the judges ruled on Wednesday that Päivi Räsänen, a parliamentarian who faced a potential sentence of 120 daily fines, said things that were “partly offensive, but not hate speech.”

In a related decision, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, who faced a potential 60 daily fines, was found “not culpable” for the publication of Räsänen’s 23-page booklet, Male and Female He Created Them.

The ruling is being hailed as a victory for free speech and freedom of religion by Räsänen and her supporters.

“I greatly appreciate that the court recognized in its ruling the importance of free speech. I hope that this ruling will help prevent others from having to go through the same ordeal,” she said. “This has been my honor.”

The judges found that the purpose of Räsänen’s writing was not to insult or harm LGBT people but defend what she believed to be the biblical concepts of family and marriage. In its decision, the court said that Räsänen’s comments included both value judgments and factual statements that might be considered offensive, but the statements did not amount to “incitement to hatred,” and should thus be considered legal.

Significantly, the court also stated in its decision that it is not its job to interpret biblical concepts. Under Finnish law, the judges said, they are not able to determine whether a particular interpretation of a scriptural passage is correct.

Though both the ...