Churches and Religion
Finland is a country with both Eastern and Western influences. 77.2% of the population are members of the main state church, the Lutheran Church of Finland. The second state church is Finland's Orthodox Church with 1.1%. Other religions count for 1.5% of the population, and 20.1% have no religious affiliation. Christian influences from both the East and the West reached Finland a thousand years ago. Missionary efforts on the part of the Western church were however stronger, and most of Finland was under the Roman Catholic Church and Swedish rule by the beginning of the 14th century. The Catholic Church brought European civilization to Finland. It united dispersed tribes into a single nation and provided an advanced system of administration. The Church ministered to the destitute and infirm by maintaining houses for the poor and hospitals. It fostered learning and the arts. Eighty stone churches, their frescoes, wood carvings, sacred relics, altar cloths and vestments remind us of the high standard of both Finnish and imported art. The Church was responsible for higher learning and for teaching the common people as well. By the end of the Middle Ages the Finns had learned to live with the Church and its sacraments. The Bishop of Turku was the most powerful man in medieval Finland. He also represented the Finns in the Royal Council of Sweden. Most of the 164 Finns registered at medieval universities embarked on their studies with the support of the cathedral chapter.