Last year, I edited a short article for a scholar from Finland. In the course of our correspondence, I learned that the scholar’s husband was a strong supporter of Donald Trump. Surprised, I asked why. She responded that her husband was a pastor who believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

That traditional view of marriage is not popular in Finland, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2017. The country’s dominant denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, does not yet perform same-sex weddings, but some of its bishops and churches have participated in the Helsinki Pride parade since 2019.

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion, on your WhatsApp.

Apparently, the court believes that because Räsänen is a physician, she should have less freedom of expression than other people

The belief held by many conservative Christians that they must fight back aggressively against perceived anti-Christian forces is likely to gain credibility after a March 26 decision by the Supreme Court of Finland, which ruled that parliamentarian and physician Päivi Räsänen must pay a fine of 1,800 euros for “incitement” because she produced a booklet that describes homosexuality as a disorder and a “sexual abnormality.”

Räsänen published the booklet in 2004, before Finland’s hate speech law existed, but she reproduced it on Facebook in 2019 after leaders of her denomination sponsored Helsinki Pride.

My Finnish friend sent me an article that defended the court decision. The article explained that the Finland Supreme Court said “making medical claims in a religious context was not a protected form of religious freedom.” Apparently, the court believes that because Räsänen is a physician, she should have less freedom of expression than other people.

Räsänen can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. But regardless of the final result, two things have already happened

Räsänen’s ordeal began in 2021 when three charges were filed against her. She was acquitted twice, yet prosecutors appealed again to the Supreme Court, three of whose members were unwilling to let her go unpunished. She was acquitted on two counts and the vote to convict her of the other charge was 3 to 2.

Räsänen can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. But regardless of the final result, two things have already happened: a chilling effect on people who hold traditional views of sexuality and are self-censoring due to fear of punishment, and a backlash among those who see this as another case of “civilizational erasure.” A representative of Alliance Defending Freedom, the nonprofit legal organization that has served as Räsänen’s counsel, cited her case in testimony before a US House of Representatives committee on February 4, alleging that Europe is moving toward “insidious authoritarianism” (page 10).

We have an interesting collision of views here. Some people think the Trump administration is authoritarian and others think the Trump administration and its allies are protecting Christians against authoritarianism.

I regularly encounter Christians who think the alternative to Trump would be even worse. What Finland has done to Päivi Räsänen will only strengthen their argument

Due to the Trump administration’s own assaults on free speech, plus Trump’s corruption, self-aggrandizement, vindictiveness, suing his own government, Greenland, Canada, NATO, Ukraine, befriending Putin, dismantling health systems, reckless use of military power, and a few dozen other things, I see the Trump regime as by far the more serious threat at this time. But I regularly encounter Christians who think the alternative would be even worse. (See below for one prominent example.) What Finland has done to Päivi Räsänen will only strengthen their argument.

When my Finnish friend shared my observations about the case with her pastor husband, his comments reflected this dilemma. He said that he appreciates conservative values and supports Trump’s articulation of those values, but that does not mean he necessarily supports Trump as a president or all his policies.

My readers know that I consider the European Evangelical Alliance a model of constructive public engagement. Their statement on the Finland Supreme Court decision is exemplary as usual and worth reading.

 

On the same day as the Finnish court decision, Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference. His 23-minute message is available online so you can watch it for yourself. Here (slightly abridged) are the most partisan of his remarks:

The Democrat socialist agenda, they want to take away parent rights, they want teachers and their unions to be the moral guide and the final voice for your children. They support the transgender agenda and transitioning young children. That is so wicked and so evil. If they get into power, this is what’s coming. They want to allow men in women’s sports. They want boys undressing and exposing themselves to your daughters and granddaughters in locker rooms. … It’s so wicked. They want to sexualize everything at an earlier and earlier age. They support killing life in the womb. They want open borders, they want to legalize drugs, they want to defund the police, and they want to open up the jails and let criminals go back on the street where they can rape, murder, and steal. They want to gut the military and take that money and give it to social programs. I believe this is an agenda that is birthed in hell, because this agenda stands against God and his creation and his word. We need to pray for our nation and ask God for help. We need a united front in order to support President Trump’s mission.

Graham then stated, “But today, I want to talk to you about the most important mission in history,” and transitioned into a brief statement of the gospel. I doubt that many Democrats, after hearing him describe their political goals in such extreme, alarmist fashion, would have open hearts to hear the gospel from him.

Bruce Barron, author or coauthor of seven books on religion and politics and a former US congressional aide, was editor of the World Evangelical Alliance’s theology journal from 2018 to 2024. Subscribe to his blog at brucebarron.substack.com.