Lutheran churchgoers give generously at Sunday services
Finns placed a total of 8.5 million euros in Sunday service collections at Evangelical Lutheran churches in 2010. The amount of cash given on Sundays to the church has risen over the past decade.
“The church is seen as a kind of charitable institute. Such collections indicate that church-going Finns want to support its work,” says Director Hanna Salomäki of the Church Research Centre.
Resignations from the Evangelical Lutheran Church have increased in recent years but Salomäki believes those members that attend Sunday services are giving more.
Money from collection plates goes primarily to mission work and charitable bodies.
Finland’s Evangelical Lutheran Church receives most of its income from church taxes levied on its members. At the end of 2011, just over 77 percent of Finns belonged to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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