Editorial, Fides 2/2026, p. 2. 10 April 2026.
Easter returns each year—thankfully—and we move from darkness into light. Each year we are given the opportunity to renew our hope and our trust that darkness, cold, and the barrenness of nature will not remain permanent. With the coming of spring, light increases, the weather grows warmer, and the greenery of nature comes to life. Hopefully, the same also happens within us spiritually.
At present, the world—and our own society—is experiencing considerable upheaval. The established world order has been called into question. The situation is deeply unsettled. Ukraine, Iran, and numerous smaller conflicts around the world bring suffering and destruction. Human lives are lost. For what reason? Material and cultural losses are also immense, at times almost irreparable. No rules seem to apply when self-interest is placed above everything else—at the expense of others, even friends and allies.
At the same time, troubling developments can be seen closer to home. In Finland, the limits of freedom of expression have recently been tested. Without taking a position on the verdict itself in the well-known Supreme Court case concerning Päivi Räsänen and Juhana Pohjola, it must be noted that our time is prone to sidelining views and opinions that diverge from the prevailing consensus. In such a climate, the rights of individuals and groups who think differently are easily trampled upon. While modern liberalism and diversity are praised, pluralism is in practice excluded from the public sphere and debate. This is anything but modern; rather, it recalls the old days of the Soviet Union or East Germany. Naturally, every person must be treated with respect and even listened to—also when they disagree. We must learn to disagree without making it a matter of criminal liability. Democracy rests precisely on the recognition of this fact.
The same fundamental issue is also reflected in the discussion on religious education and, more broadly, the place of religion and religious communities in society. Despite their shortcomings, religious communities are a force for good in society—a stabilising, integrating, and supportive element in human development. In many countries, their value in building a socially responsible and equitable society is recognised and acknowledged. Religions are a positive factor within the complex fabric of society.
But how is this reflected in Finland? There are proposals to abolish religious education in schools and replace it with a common worldview subject. Yet instruction in one’s own religion has proven to be an important practice through which society acknowledges, also before minority religions, the positive influence of religion on individual and societal development. It gives children belonging to minority religions a sense that they, with their own backgrounds, are also welcome in this country and in its majority culture. Nor do they have to feel that, as members of a minority, they must act as special representatives of their religion before classmates who believe differently.
Pluralism, multiculturalism, and the coexistence of multiple religions belong to a developed democratic society. Defending them is also in our own interest.
Marko Tervaportti