Same-sex marriage in Finland has been legal since 1 March 2017. A bill for the legalisation of
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
s was approved by the
Finnish Parliament
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
in a vote of 101–90 on 12 December 2014 and signed into law by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Sauli Niinistö on 20 February 2015. Further legislation to harmonise other laws with the legalisation of same-sex marriage was passed in 2016. The law took effect on 1 March 2017.
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
was the last
Nordic sovereign state to legalise same-sex marriage, the 13th country in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
overall, and the 21st worldwide.
Previously, from 2002 until 2017, Finland recognized
registered partnership
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s for
same-sex couples
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...
, which provided the same rights and responsibilities as
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
with the exception of joint
adoption rights and the right to a joint last name.
Registered partnerships
Legislation introducing
registered partnerships ( fi, rekisteröity parisuhde; sv, registrerat partnerskap); smn, registeristum parâkoskâvuotâ; sms, rekisterõsttum paarrõhttvuõtt. for same-sex couples was passed by the
Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
on 28 September 2001 with a vote of 99–84. The law went into effect on 1 March 2002. Registered partnerships, which were available only to same-sex couples, provided the same rights and responsibilities as
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
for opposite-sex couples, except for adoption rights and the ability to take a common family name, and they were registered and
dissolved using a procedure similar to that for
civil marriage
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular.
History
Every country maintaining a pop ...
. The legislation also granted immigration rights to a foreign partner.
The Parliament revised the law in May 2009, allowing a person in a registered partnership to
adopt the biological children of their partner. On 1 March 2017, the ability to enter into a registered partnership was closed off. No further partnerships are granted in Finland, and existing registered partners only retain their status if they do not marry.
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
has been legal in Finland since 1 March 2017. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples passed the
Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
on 12 December 2014 with support from the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(SDP), the
Green League
The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland.
Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...
, the
Left Alliance, the
Swedish People's Party
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...
and the
National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
(NCP). The
Finns Party
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The ...
, the
Christian Democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
and the
Centre Party opposed same-sex marriage, though the latter has since rejected attempts to repeal the same-sex marriage law. In Finnish public discourse, same-sex marriage is commonly referred to as "equal marriage" or "gender-neutral marriage".
2007–2011 parliamentary term
A poll conducted by
Christian newspaper ''Kotimaa'' in March 2010 showed that a narrow majority of Finnish
MPs opposed same-sex marriage. Of the 126 MPs who were asked if they would support a gender-neutral marriage law, 46% were in favour and 54% were opposed. 63% of Social Democratic lawmakers supported same-sex marriage as well as all MPs from the Greens and the Left Alliance. A majority of MPs from the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party opposed same-sex marriage. However, a later survey in April 2010 by ''
Helsingin Sanomat'' reported that there was cross-party support for same-sex marriage and joint adoption rights. The Secretary of the National Coalition Party, Taru Tujunen, said that an initiative on same-sex marriage would be put forward at the next party conference. At their June 2010 party conference, the NCP delegates voted in favor of a gender-neutral marriage law, though the vice-chairman of the NCP parliamentary group,
Ben Zyskowicz
Ben Berl Zyskowicz (born 24 May 1954) is a Finnish politician and member of parliament. Zyskowicz was chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party's (Finnish: Kansallinen Kokoomus) parliamentary group from 1993 to 2006, and has been a member o ...
, said that a majority of NCP MPs were against it. Two weeks earlier, the Social Democrats passed a measure in favor of same-sex marriage. The Left Alliance and the Green League also support it. Foreign Minister
Alexander Stubb
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (born 1 April 1968) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. He rose to politics as a researcher specialized in the affairs of the European Union and was elected to the European ...
, who held a speech at the opening ceremony of
Helsinki Pride
Helsinki Pride is an LGBT pride event in Helsinki, Finland. The event takes place during the last week of June.
The event lasts all week and is usually held the week after midsummer. On Monday, the program opens, and during the week there are ...
week on 28 June 2010, said he supports a gender-neutral marriage law with full
adoption rights for same-sex couples.
On 2 July 2010, Justice Minister
Tuija Brax
Tuija Kaarina Brax (née ''Karvonen''; born 6 January 1965 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician and former Minister of Justice. She is a Member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. She was first elected to the Parliament in 1995. ...
announced that the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
would be preparing a reform to the ''Marriage Act'' ( fi, Avioliittolaki; sv, Äktenskapslag) in the autumn of 2011. It was considered possible that same-sex marriage would be legalized after the
2011 parliamentary elections, where it was speculated to turn into a major theme,
though in an August 2010 survey by
Yle
Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
only 20% of respondents said the issue should be a major theme.
2011–2015 parliamentary term
According to the
voting advice application
A voting advice application or voting aid application (VAA) or vote matcher or vote compass or election compass is a Web application that helps voters find a candidate or a party that stands closest to their preferences. VAAs are a new phenomenon ...
of the ''Helsingin Sanomat'' newspaper, 90 of the 200 MPs elected in April 2011 supported joint adoption rights for same-sex couples, while 93 MPs opposed it. Upon joining the
Katainen Cabinet
The Katainen Cabinet (—June 24, 2014) was the 72nd cabinet of Finland, formed as a result of the 2011 post-parliamentary election negotiations between the Finnish parliamentary parties. Led by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of the National Coal ...
, the
Christian Democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
required assurance that no government bill would legalise same-sex marriage.
However, it was agreed during talks on government formation that, if proposed as a
member's initiative by individual MPs, such a bill could be endorsed by the remaining five parties in government: the
National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
, the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
, the
Left Alliance, the
Green League
The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland.
Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...
and the
Swedish People's Party
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...
.
The legislative proposal was presented as a member's initiative on 29 September 2011.
On 21 March 2012, after five months of signature gathering among MPs, the bill to legalize same-sex marriage was submitted to Parliament. 76 out of the 199 voting MPs had signed their support for the draft bill, and several additional members were expected to vote for it, including Prime Minister
Jyrki Katainen
Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously Prime Minister of Finland fr ...
. On 27 February 2013, the bill was voted down by the Legal Affairs Committee in a 9–8 vote.
After being turned down by the committee, a similar bill was put forward as a citizens' initiative, organised by the Tahdon2013 campaign ("I do 2013").
The campaign started to gather signatures on 19 March 2013,
and by the evening of the first day, the initiative had gathered over 90,000 online signatures, eventually reaching a total of 166,851 signatures. The required minimum for an initiative to be sent to Parliament is 50,000 signatures.
Citizens' initiatives had only been possible in Finland since 2012.
Therefore, in March 2013, it was still unclear whether a citizens' initiative would be considered on equal footing with a government bill (''hallituksen esitys'', ''regeringens proposition''), or a member's initiative (''lakialoite'', ''lagmotion''). Members' initiatives signed by at least 100 MPs are given precedence in the legislative process, while initiatives with less signatures mostly expire at the end of the legislative session.
In April 2013, the Speaker's Council of Parliament issued recommendations on how citizens' initiatives are to proceed in Parliament. All initiatives shall be sent to a committee chosen by the plenary session of Parliament. The committee should inform signatories of the initiative within six months on how the committee plans to handle the matter (e.g. by holding hearings with specialists), whether to recommend the initiative for a vote in the plenary session, etc. The committee has full authority on the matter and works independently.
Signature gathering for the same-sex marriage initiative ended after the standard six months period in September 2013, and the initiative was submitted to Parliament on 13 December 2013. In February 2014, the initiative was sent to the Legal Affairs Committee.
The committee voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing for 13 March 2014. After the public hearing,
Yle
Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
reported that the initiative would be sent to the plenary session and not die in the committee.
On 25 June 2014, after multiple committee hearings with experts, the Legal Affairs Committee voted 10–6 against same-sex marriage. The vote would have been closer but two members in favour of same-sex marriage missed the vote and were replaced by one substitute member against it.
On 20 November 2014, the committee voted 9–8 for recommending that the Parliament reject the same-sex marriage legislation. In the bill's first reading on 28 November 2014, the full session of Parliament, by a vote of 92–105, did not accept that recommendation. Due to the Parliament not accepting the recommendation, the
Grand Committee continued consideration of the initiative on 3 December 2014, eventually voting 17–8 in favour. The legislation was approved 101–90 by the full session of Parliament in its final reading on 12 December, and was signed into law by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Sauli Niinistö on 20 February 2015. The law amended the ''Marriage Act'' to define
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
as the union of "two people". Parliament also approved a statement requiring the next government to draft necessary amendments to other relevant acts to replace specific references to opposite-sex couples with
gender-neutral language
Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...
. The law took effect on 1 March 2017.
In 2014, thousands of Finns resigned from the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
due to comments made by church officials supporting the new legislation.
:
a. The Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
votes only in unusual circumstances, and serves as one of the 200 members of Parliament.
:
b. The Swedish-speaking Finns' parliamentary group consisted of nine Swedish People's Party
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...
members and one independent representing the autonomous region of Åland.
2015–2019 parliamentary term
Following
elections in April 2015, a new more
conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to:
Canada
In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors:
* 1st Canadian Mi ...
was formed, consisting of the
Centre Party, the
Finns Party
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The ...
and the
National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
. Despite a majority of its MPs having voted against same-sex marriage, it was supposed to introduce amendments to other acts which still referred to married spouses as "man and woman". While the Finns Party thought the gender-neutral marriage law should be repealed, the other two parties generally disagreed. The opposition parties, with the exception of the Christian Democrats, were almost completely in favour of amending the other acts to replace gender-specific references with gender-neutral language.
On 22 October 2015, the Parliament started to debate legislation to amend other acts that still had specific references to opposite-sex couples. Minister of Justice
Jari Lindström from the Finns Party, who introduced the bill, said he did so despite his personal opposition. On 11 December 2015, the Legal Affairs Committee recommended the adoption of the bill with amendments. The bill was approved by Parliament in a 106–42 vote on 17 February 2016. It was signed by President Niinistö on 8 April 2016 and took effect on 1 March 2017, on the same day as the amendments to the ''Marriage Act''. Among laws amended were the ''Act on Population Information System and the certificate services of the Population Register Centre'' (661/2009), the ''Act on Legal Recognition of the Gender of Transsexuals'' (563/2002), and the ''Religious Freedom Act'' (453/2003).
:
a. The Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
votes only in unusual circumstances, though he or she continues to serve as one of the 200 members of Parliament.
A bill to make necessary changes to social benefits and social and health care services was introduced on 3 November 2016, and approved by the Parliament in a 128–28 vote on 13 December 2016. It was signed by President Niinistö on 13 January 2017, and took effect alongside the amendments to the ''Marriage Act'' on 1 March.
:
a. The Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
votes only in unusual circumstances, though he or she continues to serve as one of the 200 members of Parliament.
:
b. The nine deputies of the Swedish People's Party that were present accidentally voted against the bill, although the entire group supported it.
:
c. Both SDP MP Henry Wallin and Finns Party MP Mika Niikko
Mika Niikko (born 20 January 1967 in Lahti) is a Finnish politician and member of Finnish Parliament for Uusimaa, representing the Finns Party. He was elected to Finnish Parliament in 2011. He is the managing director of ''Takaisin elämään reg ...
reported that they had intended to vote "No".
A citizens' initiative to repeal the gender-neutral marriage law was started on 29 March 2015. The initiative collected almost 110,000 signatures by 29 September 2015 and was presented to the Parliament on 22 June 2016. On 8 September 2016, it was sent to the Legal Affairs Committee after a plenary debate. On 15 February 2017, the committee recommended that the Parliament reject the initiative. On 17 February, the Parliament voted to accept the committee's recommendation by a 120–48 margin with 2 abstentions.
:
a. The Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
votes only in unusual circumstances, though he or she continues to serve as one of the 200 members of Parliament.
:
b. Swedish People's Party MP Eva Biaudet
Eva Rita Katarina Biaudet (born 27 February 1961) is a Finnish politician and Member of Parliament of Finland in the parliamentary group of the Swedish People's Party. She returned to the Finnish Parliament in the parliamentary election of April 2 ...
and Green MP Krista Mikkonen
Krista Johanna Mikkonen (born 15 November 1972 in Hamina, Finland) is a Finnish politician for the Green League, member of parliament, and Finland's Minister of the Interior. She lives in Joensuu, but spent her childhood in Koria. She was first ...
stated that they voted incorrectly, as they were both registered as absent. They both intended to vote "Yes" on the committee report.
Statistics
Registered partnerships
4,215 registered partnerships were established in Finland between 2002 and 2017, with a high of 446 partnerships in 2002 and a low of 36 partnerships in 2017.
Marriages
In the first month following the entry into force of the gender-neutral marriage law, 857 same-sex marriages took place in Finland, of which 87 were newly performed and 770 were registered partnerships converted to marriages. By August 2017, 1,578 same-sex marriages had taken place in the country, of which 456 were new marriages and 1,122 were partnerships converted to marriages.
The following table shows the number of marriages and divorces performed in Finland as per data published by
Statistics Finland
Statistics Finland ( fi, Tilastokeskus, sv, Statistikcentralen) is the national statistical institution in Finland, established in 1865 to serve as an information service and to provide statistics and expertise in the statistical sciences. The i ...
. It does not include conversions from registered partnerships.
Religious performance
Same-sex marriage remains a controversial matter in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
, the largest
Christian denomination in Finland. Many priests officiate at same-sex marriages and offer their blessings to the unions.
However, the matter is contentious within the church. In November 2020, a group of ministers opposed to same-sex marriage called on the church
synod to sanction priests who officiate at such marriages. Archbishop
Tapio Luoma
Tapio Juhani Luoma (born 15 June 1962) is a Finnish prelate, who has been the Archbishop of Turku and Primate of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland since 1 June 2018.
Biography
Born in Kurikka, Luoma was ordained priest in 1987. He acq ...
has called on
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
s not to sanction priests who perform marriages for same-sex couples, saying that the issue "cannot be settled by sanctions" but that "any solution for the church must be based on the fact that there can be disagreement on the matter". A 2019 survey conducted by the
University of Eastern Finland
The University of Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen yliopisto) is a university in Finland founded in 2010 with campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio.
History
The Finnish Parliament passed the Universities Act on June 16, 2009, which, among other thing ...
showed that 57% of priests in the Evangelical Lutheran Church would marry same-sex couples if explicitly permitted by the church leadership to do so.
In September 2020, the
Supreme Administrative Court of Finland ruled that diocesan chapters may sanction priests who perform same-sex marriages. The
Diocese of Helsinki
The Diocese of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin hiippakunta; sv, Helsingfors stift) is a diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and the seat of the Bishop of Helsinki. Its cathedral is Helsinki Cathedral.
The diocese was established in ...
has taken a position not to issue warnings to priests who perform same-sex marriages.
Public opinion
Support for same-sex marriage in Finland has grown gradually since the 2000s. A December 2006 EU poll put Finnish support for same-sex marriage at 45%, while an August 2010 survey conducted by
Yle
Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
put support at 54% with 35% opposing it.
In January 2013, a poll by
YouGov
YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...
showed that support had increased to 57%, with 32% opposed and 12% unsure. In the same survey, support for adoption by same-sex couples was 51%, with 36% opposed and 13% unsure. A March 2013 survey by Taloustutkimus found that 58% of
Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
supported same-sex marriage. In March 2014, a follow-up Taloustutkimus survey put support at 65% with 27% opposing and 8% unsure.
A June 2014 survey showed that among clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 44% supported a gender-neutral marriage law, while 41% were opposed and 15% were neutral. 60% supported church blessings for registered partners, and 28% said the church should abandon the legislated duty to perform marriages if a gender-neutral marriage law is passed.
The 2015
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...
found that 66% of Finns thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 28% were opposed.
A
Pew Research Center poll, conducted between April and August 2017 and published in May 2018, showed that 64% of Finns supported same-sex marriage, 26% were opposed and 10% did not know or refused to answer. When divided by religion, 84% of religiously unaffiliated people, 62% of non-practicing Christians and 30% of church-attending Christians supported same-sex marriage. Opposition was 12% among 18–34-year-olds.
The 2019 Eurobarometer found that 76% of Finns thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 21% were opposed.
Regional significance
Finland was the last
Nordic country
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swed ...
to introduce same-sex marriage. Although the change has brought it into alignment with its Nordic neighbours, this represents a significant difference of approach to neighbouring
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, which historically exercised influence in Finland's affairs through
Finlandisation
Finlandization ( fi, suomettuminen; sv, finlandisering; german: Finnlandisierung; et, soomestumine; russian: финляндизация, finlyandizatsiya) is the process by which one powerful country makes a smaller neighboring country refrai ...
and is hostile to LGBT rights.
See also
*
LGBT rights in Finland
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Finland are among the most advanced in Europe. According to an annual ILGA report, Finnish LGBT legislation is among the most extensive and developed legislations in Europe. Compared to fe ...
*
LGBT history in Finland This article is about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history in Finland.
Timeline of the legislation
*1894 Homosexuality is criminalized in the new Criminal Code and punishable by a maximum of two years in prison.
*1971 Homosexuali ...
*
Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
Recognition may refer to:
*Award, something given in recognition of an achievement
Machine learning
*Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below
Biometric
* Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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*
*
{{Europe in topic, Same-sex marriage in
LGBT rights in Finland
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
2017 in LGBT history