Is It a Sin?: The Therapeutic Turn and Changing Views on Homosexuality in the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1952-1984
Views on marriage, sexuality, and gender changed remarkably in Western culture during the twentieth century. It has been argued that this change is, in part, the result of a therapeutic turn, which means that, after the Second World War, different psychological and therapeutic ideas, ideals, and tec...
| Published in: | Pastoral psychology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer Science Business Media B. V.
[2017]
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| In: |
Pastoral psychology
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| RelBib Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia KDD Protestant Church NCF Sexual ethics RG Pastoral care ZD Psychology |
| Further subjects: | B
Family counseling
B Homosexuality B Evangelical Lutheran Church B Finland B Same-sex marriage B Therapeutic turn B Homosexuality Religious aspects Evangelical churches |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Views on marriage, sexuality, and gender changed remarkably in Western culture during the twentieth century. It has been argued that this change is, in part, the result of a therapeutic turn, which means that, after the Second World War, different psychological and therapeutic ideas, ideals, and techniques have increased in prevalence within culture as a whole, religion included. This article examines how the rise of different psychotherapeutic discourses changed the view on homosexuality in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and how this cultural shift constructed religious and sexual subjectivity. The material for the analysis consists of memoranda, handbooks, articles, official statements, and reports of the Church and of the Family Affairs Committee of the Church. A close reading of the material shows that the therapeutic turn of the Finnish Church resulted from a turn to a psychoanalytical understanding of the human psyche. Within the new paradigm, homosexuality is seen as an identity and a trait of personality rather than a sin or a sickness, as it had been understood earlier. Instead of protecting society from homosexuality, the Church aims at accepting and supporting homosexual individuals. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-6679 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s11089-017-0778-9 |