#EU #Finland – Finnish Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola were the subjects of a high-profile criminal case that reached its latest stage on March 26, 2026, when Finland’s Supreme Court issued a split ruling.
The prosecution, often called Finland’s “Bible Trial,” began in 2021 and lasted nearly seven years. It stemmed from three expressions of traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality:
- A 2004 church pamphlet titled Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity, written by Räsänen for her Lutheran church.
- A 2019 tweet in which Räsänen posted a Bible verse (Romans 1:24–27) with a photo of a church event and questioned the Finnish Lutheran Church’s participation in a Pride parade.
- A 2019 radio debate on the topic.
Räsänen (a medical doctor, former Interior Minister, and long-serving MP since 1995 for the Christian Democrats) and Bishop Pohjola (of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland) were charged with “agitation against a minority group” (sometimes described in media as “hate speech” or under a section of the criminal code linked to “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in broader phrasing, though the core allegation was incitement/insult based on sexual orientation). Lower courts (District Court and Court of Appeal) had previously acquitted them.
In a 3–2 split decision on the pamphlet, the Supreme Court convicted both Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola of “making and keeping available to the public opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation.” The text was deemed to have insulted the group, even though the Court acknowledged it contained no incitement to violence or threat-like hatred, and described the offense as “not particularly serious.” They received fines equivalent to 20 day-fines (several thousand euros, scaled to income).
On the 2019 Bible verse tweet, the Court unanimously acquitted Räsänen, ruling that citing Scripture in public debate did not meet the threshold for a criminal offense.
Räsänen stated she was “shocked and profoundly disappointed” but affirmed: “My conscience is clear. I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square.” She and her legal team have indicated the case may proceed to the European Court of Human Rights. Bishop Pohjola said his conscience is pure and he will continue teaching the Christian faith publicly.Supporters and free-speech advocates described the outcome as a blow to religious liberty and freedom of expression, arguing it criminalizes historic Christian doctrine on marriage and sexuality. Critics viewed the pamphlet’s language (e.g., describing homosexual acts as “disordered”) as discriminatory.The narrow majority and partial acquittal highlighted deep divisions even within the Supreme Court.
This case has been widely covered as a test of whether expressing traditional biblical views on sexual ethics can be treated as a criminal offense in a Western democracy. The convictions stand as of late March 2026, though appeals to international bodies remain possible. The incident has sparked broader debate about “polite persecution” or the limits of hate speech laws when they intersect with religious belief.
Image: Dr. Päivi Räsänen stands trial in the Supreme Court of Finland during the “Bible Trial.”
