Can Christians still disagree with homosexuality? Finland’s Supreme Court says no
By 
Lois McLatchie Miller2026-03-27T09:41:00
The conviction of Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen for expressing her Christian views on sexuality and marriage have chilling repercussions, says Lois McLatchie-Miller. Whatever your beliefs, the right to express them freely should be fiercely guarded
The conviction of Christian politician and grandmother Päivi Räsänen this week should send a chill far beyond Helsinki.
The Finnish Supreme Court found the former Interior Minister and sitting MP guilty of “hate speech” under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity”. Her offence? The authorship, and later online distribution, of a 2004 pamphlet articulating traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality.
Räsänen was acquitted over a separate 2019 social media post calling her church’s involvement in a gay pride event into question. Yet the court ruled that the online availability of the pamphlet amounted to authoring and distributing material that “insults homosexuals as a group.”
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