The Finnish Supreme Court has convicted former interior minister Päivi Räsänen of ‘incitement against a minority group’ for a booklet she published in 2004, titled Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Understanding of Humanity.
The conviction falls under the ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’ section of Finland’s criminal code. The Supreme Court upheld an earlier sentence of 20 day-fines, amounting to around €1,800 based on her income.
Räsänen, who served as Interior Minister and as former Chair of the Christian Democrats (CD), said on Thursday, 26 March, that she was ‘shocked and profoundly disappointed’ by the ruling. She added that she is considering filing an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.
The case, which has attracted significant international attention over the past four years, stems from a booklet published by Räsänen in 2004, which critiques homosexuality from a doctrinal and moral perspective. The booklet argues that same-sex relationships are incompatible with Christian teachings, citing passages from both the Old and New Testaments, including Leviticus, Romans, and Corinthians. It stresses that homosexuality is a departure from the natural and moral order established by God.
Räsänen republished the booklet on her Facebook page in 2019, after the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church decided to support the Helsinki Pride event. ‘It was a shock to me and also to many others,’ she said in an interview with Hungarian Conservative last year. The pamphlet was also published on the website of the Finnish Luther Foundation and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland. Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Finnish Luther Foundation Diocese was also charged with incitement against a minority group and received the same sentence of 20 day-fines.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court noted that Räsänen’s publication described homosexuality as ‘a disorder of psychosexual development’ and a ‘sexual abnormality’. It concluded that these statements were derogatory toward homosexuals as a group on the basis of sexual orientation.
In what Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom International described as a ‘striking act of censorship’, the court also ruled that the statements ‘must be removed from public access and destroyed’. ‘If a church pamphlet written decades ago can be censored—this could happen to anyone who dares to share their beliefs in the public square,’ the organization said in a statement shared on X. Last month, Räsänen appeared before US Congress, warning them of the growing threat to free speech in Europe.
However, the court unanimously acquitted Räsänen in a parallel case, in which prosecutors sought a conviction over a social media post citing a Bible verse. ‘I would never have believed that something like that happens in Finland, because what I have said and what I have quoted was classical Christianity. It is what Christians have been teaching for hundreds of years, and it is not hate speech. I have not insulted or defamed anyone. I have just lifted up what the Bible says about these issues,’ Räsänen told Hungarian Conservative.
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