Finland’s Supreme Court has heard the case of Christian parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen, who was prosecuted after posting Romans 1:24–27 on social media in 2019 to question her church’s sponsorship of a Helsinki Pride event.
Räsänen said her concern was rooted in the authority of Scripture. “When they were supporting the pride event in Helsinki, I had a deep worry that they are leading others astray,” she said, warning that if young Christians “lose their trust on the Bible,” they may also lose clarity about “sin and salvation and the Gospel.”
In 2021, prosecutors charged Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola over her post and a 2004 pamphlet titled “As Man and Woman He Created Them,” accusing them of “agitation against a minority group” under statutes related to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Both were acquitted by the Helsinki District Court in 2022 and again by the Court of Appeal in 2023. Prosecutors then appealed to the Supreme Court.
“They are accusing me of hate crime,” Räsänen said. “I have told what God speaks in the Bible, it is about love because God is love. It’s not hate speech. It is love speech.”
During earlier hearings, prosecutors argued that her intent was irrelevant and that the focus should be on how her words were interpreted. Her defense countered that quoting Scripture is protected under Finland’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and free expression. Standing before the court, Räsänen declared: “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.” She added, “My case will show whether quoting the Bible can become a crime in a free country.”
In the latest stage of the case, prosecutors filed a final appeal to the Supreme Court in January 2024. At this level, they dropped the charge related to a radio interview but continued pursuing allegations connected to her 2019 social media post and the 2004 pamphlet.
On Oct. 30, 2025, the Supreme Court held a full-day oral hearing, listening to arguments from both sides. The case has now been fully reviewed, and the court is expected to issue a written ruling in the first half of 2026.
Following the hearing, ADF International’s Paul Coleman said the case represents a broader test of whether “quoting the Bible is permissible in modern Finland.” Räsänen has said the prosecution has given her “a platform to preach the Gospel,” sharing that some who followed the proceedings “prayed to Jesus and became Christians,” which she believes was “His purpose for this case.”
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