Is this what's coming to America? Finnish politician on trial for quoting the Bible and defending traditional marriage

 

Finnish politician on trial for ‘hate speech’ for defending traditional marriage

Oleńka Hamilton

August 31, 2023 at 1:03 pm

Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen is on trial this week for “hate speech” and “ethnic agitation” after publicly sharing in 2019 her biblical, religious views on marriage as between one man and one woman. 

Räsänen, 63, is being tried for violating Finland’s hate speech laws by using Bible verses to express her support for traditional marriage. 

Her trial takes place today, August 31 and tomorrow, September 1. 

In the 2019 tweet that brought about Räsänen’s current legal troubles, she criticised her denomination for embracing LGBTQ+ ideology, asking how these views could be reconciled with Scripture. In the tweet, she referenced Romans 1:24-27, which clearly states that homosexual activity is against God’s will. 

Along with Räsänen, a Finnish Lutheran bishop named Juhana Pohjola is also being tried for hate speech for publishing a pamphlet written by Räsänen that advocated for the biblical understanding of sexuality and marriage. 

Though they were unanimously acquitted by a Finnish District Court in 2022, prosecutors appealed their acquittal to the Helsinki Court of Appeal. 

Now, the two are facing tens of thousands of Euros in fines and possibly two years in prison if they are found guilty. Additionally, the court could also rule to censor Räsänen’s publications.

Räsänen and Pohjola are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF). 

Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, said in a press release last week that “the relentless prosecution” of Räsänen has not only consumed four years of her life but “also intimidates others into silence”. 

“In a democratic society, everyone should be free to share their beliefs without fear of state prosecution,” Coleman said. “Criminalising speech through so-called ‘hate-speech’ laws shuts down important public debates and endangers democracy.

“State authorities have no business silencing ideas they dislike. That’s why this case is not just about Päivi, it is about everyone’s right to speak freely.”

Räsänen, who is a mother of five and grandmother of 10 as well as a member of Finland’s Parliament, told EWTN’s Tracy Sabol in a Monday interview that despite facing renewed persecution, she trusts “that this whole process is in God’s hands” and that she is confident that she will once again be acquitted of the hate speech charges.  

According to a statement from ADF International to the media, “Christian teachings [are] on trial” in Finland. 

ADF said that “core Christian teachings” were attacked during the district trial in early 2022 and that “finding Räsänen guilty would be a grave violation of human rights, significantly damaging free speech in Finland.” 

Tony Perkins, president of one of the U.S.’s leading religious advocacy groups, Family Research Council, also said in a Tuesday tweet that “it is not just Päivi and Bishop Pohjola on trial” but that “the Bible and the ability to live by the word is on trial”. 

In her Monday “EWTN News Nightly” interview, Räsänen said her trial directly challenges the rights of Christians to freely express deeply held religious beliefs and that “if something like that could happen in Finland it can happen in any country”.