Has Finland Criminalised The Bible?

Michael Ringer

Michael Ringer

— 5 min read
Has Finland Criminalised The Bible?

Helsinki, Finland - Finnish Member of Parliament Dr. Päivi Räsänen appeared before Finland's Supreme Court on October 30, 2025, marking the third court to hear charges against her in a seven-year legal battle over a Bible verse she tweeted in 2019.

Räsänen, a medical doctor, grandmother of twelve, and former Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2015, faces criminal charges of "incitement against a group" for three separate incidents: a 2019 tweet questioning the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's sponsorship of a Pride event that included an image of Romans 1:24-27, a 2004 pamphlet titled "Male and Female He Created Them" that articulated Christian teachings on sexuality, and comments made during a 2019 radio debate on theology and human identity.

Dr. Päivi Räsänen reading The Holy Bible

The radio debate charge was dropped by prosecutors at this latest Supreme Court hearing.

Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland faces charges alongside Räsänen for publishing the 2004 pamphlet.

Both the District Court of Helsinki in March 2022 and the Helsinki Court of Appeal in November 2023 unanimously acquitted Räsänen and Pohjola of all charges, ruling that their expressions fell within the scope of free speech and religious freedom protected under Finnish and international law.

However, Finnish law allows prosecutors to appeal non-convictions, and the state prosecutor has continued to pursue the case to Finland's highest court.

The prosecution is seeking tens of thousands of euros in fines and is demanding that Räsänen's tweet and the pamphlet be censored from public view.

Following the 2019 tweet, Räsänen was interrogated by police three times, with each interrogation lasting hours. During these sessions, police asked her to defend the Bible's Book of Romans and Christian theological concepts such as sin and shame, making the interrogation specifically about her religious beliefs. After each interrogation, Räsänen said police gave her two weeks to recant her Christian beliefs and publicly apologize, or they would file criminal charges.

"I said, 'I do not apologize [for] what the Apostle Paul has stated, because it's not my opinion, it's what the word of God says,'" Räsänen told reporters. The repeated interrogations became so frequent that Finnish national media joked that "Päivi Räsänen is going to have another Bible study in the police station."

At the October 30 Supreme Court hearing, the new prosecutor in the case did not ask a single question of either defendant. Instead, the prosecutor argued that even if Christian speech doesn't cause demonstrable harm, the court should still criminalize it as "hate speech." The prosecution claimed Räsänen's words were "insulting" and that her "intent is irrelevant."

"If the court would accept this argument, harmless speech would be criminalized," said Matti Sankamo, the defendants' lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is coordinating their legal defense.
"It is difficult to overstate how surreal [it has been] to see my faith, my conscience, and even the Bible itself placed on trial in a democratic nation," Räsänen said during a virtual press conference. "I am innocent of any crime. I have not insulted anyone, I have not spread hate. I have simply spoken what I believe to be true, out of love and conviction."

Bishop Pohjola noted that the doctrinal beliefs for which he and Räsänen are being prosecuted are "shared widely across Christian churches." He added, "Any possible conviction would not only stigmatize me and the Lutheran church body that I lead as criminals, but also send a dangerous signal to all Christians and Christian denominations. Such an outcome would not contribute to building a genuinely free society proud of its rule of law."

Räsänen, who has served in Parliament since 1995, explained that her 2019 tweet questioned church leadership teaching "values contrary to the Bible" and was motivated by concern that "if the church leadership teaches values contrary to the Bible, it undermines the credibility of Scripture." She said the issue was "no longer merely about marriage, but about people's salvation" and that as a church council member, she felt it was her duty to engage in discussions about the matter. The tweet received overwhelmingly positive responses from Christians who shared her concerns.

"I stand here not only to defend my own right to speak freely, but to defend the freedom of every person to express deeply held beliefs without fear of punishment," Räsänen stated. "My case will show whether quoting the Bible can become a crime in a free country. I trust that the Finnish Supreme Court will uphold the rule of law and the fundamental freedom to speak openly about faith. No one should be censored for sharing the timeless truths of Scripture."

Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, said, "This case strikes at the heart of democracy: whether people are free to express their convictions without fear of state prosecution."

Räsänen compared the interrogations to stories she had heard from the Soviet Union: "The interrogations reminded me about these times when Christians were interrogated in the Soviet Union, for example, for their Christian beliefs or having Bibles and so on, those stories that I had heard from these communist countries."

The Supreme Court will issue its ruling at a later date. If convicted, the case could potentially reach the European Court of Human Rights, but regardless, it will set a precedent for free speech and religious liberty across Europe.

The case has drawn international attention as Western nations increasingly arrest and prosecute citizens for speech.

Last year, the United Kingdom arrested an estimated 30 people per day, or 12,000 per year, over alleged speech crimes, primarily on social media. Earlier this year, U.K. police arrested Irish comedian Graham Linehan for opposing men entering women's changing areas.

"LGBT advocates are following this case, and [if the charges prevail] it could be they would raise similar kinds of criminal complaints against very classical Christian teachings in other places," Räsänen warned.

The International Lutheran Council, which represents Lutheran church bodies worldwide, issued a public letter in 2021 signed by the leaders of 45 Lutheran churches protesting the prosecution. The ILC reaffirmed its support for Bishop Pohjola during its 2025 World Conference in the Philippines, reelecting him to a second term as ILC Chairman.

"We pray for an end to this legal persecution," said ILC General Secretary Klaus Detlev Schulz. "Christians must be free to speak openly about their religious convictions without fear of prosecution."

THE CRUSADER'S OPINION

Seven years. A grandmother, a doctor, a former cabinet minister has spent SEVEN YEARS in legal hell for tweeting a Bible verse. Finland, a NATO member and supposed bastion of Western democracy, is prosecuting a woman for quoting the Apostle Paul.

This is not just about Päivi Räsänen.

This is about every Christian in the West.

When a prosecutor stands in court and argues that speech should be criminalized even if it causes NO harm, we have crossed into tyranny.

The Soviet-style interrogations, the demands to recant her faith, the relentless appeals after two unanimous acquittals - this is persecution, plain and simple.

Bishop Pohjola is right: a conviction would criminalize every Christian denomination that holds to biblical teaching on sexuality.

If Finland can prosecute Romans 1:24-27, then every pulpit...every Christian school, every Bible study is next.

The line has been drawn. Will we defend Scripture, or watch silently as the West criminalizes Christianity itself?

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