Vantaa church election exposes divide over same-sex weddings

Hämeenkylä is the only parish in Vantaa that does not allow same-sex couples to marry in its church, a divide that has become one of the sharpest issues in Sunday’s parish elections, Yle reports.

The clearest split among candidates is between the reform-minded Tulkaa kaikki group and the conservative Sanasta elämään group. All Tulkaa kaikki candidates who answered the election questionnaire support same-sex weddings in every parish. Among respondents on Sanasta elämään lists, only four per cent support them.

“In Vantaa, the field of church officials is completely divided,” said Eve Rämö, chair of Vantaa’s joint church council and a member of Tulkaa kaikki. The council holds the highest decision-making power in the parish union.

In Vantaa, Tulkaa kaikki, the Social Democratic Parish Group and Kyrkan Mitt i Byn form a liberal coalition. The conservative coalition consists of the Kokoava Seurakunta and Sanasta elämään lists. Avoin seurakunta sits between the two blocs.

Hämeenkylä is one of Vantaa’s seven Evangelical Lutheran parishes and has about 11,000 members. It serves the areas of Hämeenkylä, Vapaala, Rajatorppa, Pähkinärinne and Askisto.

The issue was last discussed in Hämeenkylä two years ago, when two Tulkaa kaikki members proposed allowing same-sex couples to marry or have their marriages blessed in parish church premises. In his response, parish vicar Matti Hyry cited church law, church regulations and the Church Handbook, saying they do not authorise priests to marry couples of the same sex.

In June 2025, the bishops’ conference issued pastoral guidance stating that no separate decision was needed on whether church premises could be used for church ceremonies. After the guidance, for example, Tikkurila parish adopted a practice of marrying couples regardless of their sex. All Vantaa parishes except Hämeenkylä now allow same-sex couples to marry, Rämö said. Hyry did not respond to Yle’s interview request on Friday.

Vantaa’s parish elections will choose 151 officials for the 2027–2030 term. They will make decisions on parish finances, property and the use of premises, future activities and staff appointments. Fifty-one seats are on the joint church council, while 100 officials will be elected to parish councils.

Conservative views have greater influence in church decision-making than their share of members might suggest, Rämö said. Regular churchgoers, who tend to be conservative, are more likely to vote, while most parish members form a quieter majority that does not use its vote. As a result, conservative voters have a stronger presence in election results, she said.

There are 288 candidates in Vantaa, 30 per cent more than in the 2022 elections. Three in four are new candidates. The election also chooses lay representatives to the Church Assembly, the church’s highest decision-making body.