SANDRA WALLENIUS-KORKALO
Care, longing, and control Representing corporeal Laestadianism in popular culture
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.86094 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
his article analyses representations of Con- development, alongside a growth of con- servative Laestadianism in contemporary sumption of traditional popular cultures Finnish and Finnish-American popular T (Beavis et al. 2013: 423). Simultaneously, culture. Drawing from political studies, religious studies and cultural studies, the article sheds institutional forms of religion have become light on the ways in which Conservative Laes more distanced from the everyday experi tadianism is present in societal debate and in ence of many people living in Western the cultural imagination. Focusing on religious secular societies, allowing the role of popu- corporeality, the article scrutinises the embodied practices of Conservative Laestadianism and the lar culture in constructing imaginaries and ways in which the representations participate impressions of religion to gain significance in making sense of gender, sexuality, and power (Clark 2007: 13–15). Popular culture cre- in religious communities. Contemporary under- ates a formative space in which understand- standings in popular culture are revealed through the detailed analysis of four cultural products of ings of religions are moulded, and wherein different genres depicting Conservative Laes members of different religious groups are tadianism: a film entitled Kielletty hedelmä (For- encountered (Stone 2013: 403). bidden Fruit, 2009), a novel entitled We Sinners This article sheds light on representa- (2012), a reality television show entitled Iholla tions of the religious movement known (On the Skin, 2013), and a play entitled Taivas laulu (Heavensong, 2015). As a synthesis of the as Laestadianism, more specifically Con representations of Conservative Laestadianism, servative Laestadianism, in contemporary the article presents a dynamic triad of care, long- popular culture.1 The cultural represen- ing, and control. Furthermore, the article raises tations of the movement are examined in questions about the potential of popular culture in calling for a dialogue between Conservative relation to an ongoing shift in Conservative Laestadianism and society at large. Laestadianism, and the reflections of that shift in surrounding societies. Con servative Laestadianism is most prominent Introduction in Finland, with around 90,000 members The study of religion and popular cul- – about two per cent of the population – ture is crucial today, as forms of religious making it the largest revivalist movement expression and dynamics are changing rap- idly. The rise of new media in the twenty- first century and the expansion of virtual 1 The article is based on the author’s doctoral expressions of religions are examples of this dissertation (Wallenius-Korkalo 2018a).
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 4 in the country (Talonen 2016: 134).2 Con community, leaving the community, and servative Laestadianism can be found in questions of gender and sexuality. the United States under the name of the This article presents a study of four Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) and contemporary popular cultural products the movement has sister organisations also portraying Conservative Laestadianism; a in Sweden, Canada, Russia, and Estonia film entitled Kielletty hedelmä (Forbidden (Talonen 2001). Conservative Laestadians Fruit, 2009); a novel entitled We Sinners are known for their strict theological and (2012); a reality television show entitled moral codes, traditional values, and large Iholla (On the Skin, 2013); and a play en families; their lifestyle does not generally titled Taivaslaulu (Heavensong, 2015), include, for example, birth control, pre- adapted from a novel (2013) of the same marital sex, alcohol, television, competi- name. Drawing from political studies, reli- tive sports, or dancing (Salomäki 2010). In gious studies and cultural studies, I suggest Finland, many members of the movement that key aspects of the current debates and are active in civil society, business, and pol- the cultural products can be understood itics (Linjakumpu et al. 2019). with the help of theories of corporeality. During the 2000s, Conservative Laes I ask how Conservative Laestadianism is tadianism has attracted some critical pub- embodied in these representations and licity due to the position of women in how the representations participate in the community, the movement’s negative making sense of the political potential of stance on female priests, its ban on contra the religious body. By means of an ana ception and certain alleged wrongdoings lysis of these cultural products, my study – such as sexual abuse of children, and scrutinises the power structures of the rep- spiritual violence – within the commu- resented religious bodies; their potential, nity (see e.g. Hurtig 2013b; Linjakumpu what is expected and required of them, 2015; Nykänen and Luoma-aho 2013). and how, sometimes, these are violated. Many members have left the movement I trace the ways in which Laestadianism (Valkila 2013), and some of this develop- is corporeally signified in the representa- ment is thought to have happened partly tions and ask what the interpretations the due to the role of media and social media representations call for are. As such, the environments in encouraging individu- study highlights the ways in which cor als who are already on the brink of leaving poreal Conservative Laestadianism is pres- the movement (Taira 2019: 340–1; Hintsala ent in the wider social debate and cultural 2016) to go through with the intention. imagination. The 2000s also saw a rise in the produc- In what follows, I situate my study within tion of of popular cultural products depict- the interdisciplinary discussions of lived ing Laestadianism – many of which deal religion, popular culture, and religious cor- with the very same issues that Conservative poreality. Secondly, I briefly introduce the Laestadian communities are facing today; cultural products analysed in this article, such as the negotiation of the norms of the place them within the continuum of repre- sentations of Laestadianism in popular cul- ture, and describe my method of analysis. 2 Other major, although significantly smaller, branches of Laestadianism include Re Thirdly, with corporeality as my focal point, awakening, Firstborn Laestadianism and my analysis explores the ways in which the Little Firstborn group. Conservative Laestadianism is portrayed
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 5 in the items under study. As a synthe- ‘out there’ (Morgan 2008: xiii–xiv, 3, 5–7). sis of the representations of Conservative Thus, the questions researchers ask may Laestadianism emerging from the cultural focus on how religion is represented in products is analysed, the article presents a popular culture, but also on the relation- dynamic triad of care, longing, and control. ship media and culture consumption has I conclude by raising questions about the to the embodied, affectual, aesthetic and potential of popular culture in calling for a ethical basis of religious life (Lynch et al. dialogue between the movement and soci- 2012: 3; Mahan 2005: 294; Morgan 2008: ety at large. 9–10, 16; Forbes 2005: 10–6).3 Cultural products are part of the articulation and Representations of corporeal religion presence of religions in societies in that During the past few decades, the study of they draw from lived actualities and pro- everyday religion and lived religion has duce collective imaginations (Morgan become an established tradition. Scholars 2008: 8–10). This does not happen only at a of religious studies and the sociology of cognitive level, but rather, cultural products religion frame this field as research on also frame and shape corporeal agency and religious practices and imagination lived experience (Lynch et al. 2012: 5). Popular within the structures and realities of every- culture produces ideas of who we are and day life, as opposed to focusing on reli- what separates us from others (Duncombe gious institutions or doctrines (McGuire and Bleiker 2015: 35–44; Meyer 2012: 168), 2008: 160–1; Orsi 2002: xiii–xiv). It is a and thus studying the forms in and through culture-specific approach that adheres to which religious life is mediated is crucial to religiousness in particular places and times understanding how religious realities are (Hintsala 2017: 16, 25). It is also often constructed and maintained (Meyer 2015: interested in corporeal and material aspects 1; Lynch et al. 2012: 133). of religions – lived religion is inherently In my research, I assess the cultural embodied; mundane practices and chores, products depicting Conservative Laes- from food preparation to singing, tie the material life to the spiritual (McGuire 2008: 3 Within this line of research, a more specific 99, 115, 118). debate on the ‘mediatisation of religion’ – Alongside the study of lived religion, formulated most notably by media stud- the study of religion, media, and culture ies scholar Stig Hjarvard – has focused on has also become more prominent. While media as the prime mediator of religion in secular societies (Lövheim and Lynch not often brought into dialogue with each 2011: 111–12). According to Hjarvard, the other, these two approaches have focused media tends to communicate religion that on similar questions: both are interested could be characterised as ‘banal’, a brico- in mundane communal and cultural prac- lage of elements taken from institutional- tices of religions instead of religious elites, ised religion and folk religion, combined with elements with no religious meaning or macro-level interactions of religions (Hjarvard 2011: 128–30). However, the and states (Lynch et al. 2012: 1–2; Forbes cultural items analysed in this study, while 2005: 2). In a broad sense, media and cul- they construct religious imaginations that tural products are approached as sites for adhere to popular cultural genres, they do also present rather coherent and elabor religious experience and meaning making, ate religious propositions of Conservative not only as instruments that communicate Laestadiansim, and are thus are not ‘banal’ information or represent a reality that is in the aforementioned sense.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 6 tadianism as representations, but also be seen as an integral part of Conservative simultaneously as narrations of a lived, Laestadian theology too (Hintsala 2017, corporeal religion (see also van den Brandt 2016). According to theologian Meri-Anna and Wallenius-Korkalo 2020). The notion Hintsala, Conservative Laestadian cor- of representation I use here refers to the poreality is flexible and adaptable: faith is production and construction of mean- embodied in practices of birth control, in ing (Hall 2000), while religious corporeal the capacity of the emotions and in ques- ity is conceptualised as reflexive embodi tions of agency – the body adapts by adjust- ment (Crossley 2006), referring to the ing and confirming, but also by objecting to interrelation between individuals and their or creating new interpretations of religious communities, to individuals being em- teachings (Hintsala 2017: 60). bedded in socially defined norms and prac- From a secular point of view, often tices. Representations of Conservative also adapted by research, religion stands Laestadian bodies are studied in relation for authoritarianism and traditionalism, to, and as exemplars of, the community. especially when it comes to questions of This approach does not translate into a gender or sexuality (Yip and Nynäs 2012: one-sided relation wherein a community 6, 8–9; Hunt and Yip 2012: 3–4). Stressing dictates over individual bodies. Instead, the regulatory aspects of religion has, how- it recognises the way in which the social ever, been criticised, as such research might gives the context wherein a human ability fail to consider the diversity of religious to abide by collective norms, or go against everyday life (Yip and Nynäs 2012: 9–10). them, becomes possible (Crossley 2006: Studies have, for example, shown positive 3–4; Shilling 2012: 241–56). The two-way correlations between the experiences of relation between the individual and their womanhood and religion in Conservative community becomes a triplicity in reli- Laestadianism (Rantala and Kuusisto 2013: gious communities: the individual body is 67) while highlighting some of its challeng- a manifestation of the self and the group as ing aspects, too (Kutuniva 2007; Hurtig well as an instrument, or a container, of the 2013a). Nevertheless, the practices and spiritual and the sacred (Morgan 2010). representations of lived corporeal religion The connection between corporeal- cannot be separated from mechanisms of ity and religion has been explored within power and difference. Previous social scien- various studies concentrating, for ex tific and political studies have approached ample, on religious rituals and customs – questions of power in Conservative Laes such as asceticism or fasting – or on reli- tadianism through the theories of power gious dress (see e.g. Arthur 1999; McGuire as introduced by philosopher Michel 2008). In Christian traditions over time, Foucault (1980, 1999). Foucauldian anal- the attitude towards the body has been ysis sees power as an omnipresent rela- somewhat ambivalent. On one hand, the tion which produces subjects through body represents the opposite of the holy, discourses and practices, while the sub- while on the other hand, God made into jects are both subordinate to power and flesh – the body of Jesus Christ – is at the able to resist it (Kantola and Lombardo centre of the doctrine; Christian theology 2017: 1; Butler 1993). According to polit- has thus been interpreted as a corporeal ical scientist Tapio Nykänen, the power theology (Ammerman 2007: 189–90; that Conservative Laestadian communities McGuire 2008: 97–102). Corporeality can wield can be interpreted, using Foucauldian
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 7 concepts, as pastoral power, power founded the politics of representation; how cultural on sacred authority (Nykänen 2013: 154– products contribute to societal discussion. 5). Political scientist Aini Linjakumpu dif- ferentiates between disciplinary power and Tracing Conservative Laestadianism normative power based on governmental- in popular culture ity: religious guidelines in Conservative This article focuses on four cultural prod- Laestadian communities produce discip ucts of different genres depicting Conser linary powers that regulate the religious life, vative Laestadianism: a film, a novel, a while governmentality is based on appar- reality television show, and a theatre play, ent freedom, wherein an individual regu- all produced around the turn of 2010. lates their actions without any direct orders The items analysed in this study are best- (Linjakumpu 2013: 107–8; Foucault 1999: selling stories and, thus, emerging from 63–5; Foucault 1980: 158). The former and shaping a strand of popular culture type of power creates the norm of a good about Laestadianism. The notion of popu and righteous life and directs believers to lar culture used here refers to a wide- continuously strive to achieve it (Nykänen spread, multiform culture, encompassing 2013: 155–6). literature, movies, music, and, for example, In this study, I approach representations video games (Forbes 2005: 2–4; Beavis et of religious corporeality both as permeated al. 2013: 421). Instead of being the oppo- and governed by power structures, while at site of what is generally referred to as ‘high the same time being lived, experienced and culture’, popular culture, as it is understood productive of these structures. I propose here, refers to ‘common culture’, to products that the power at issue constructs, main- that involve emotions and ideas and medi- tains and divides the religious collective and ate expressions and experiences of identity is focused on, materialises in, and origin (Morgan 2008: 11). I thus place the repre- ates from the body. The representations of sentations analysed in this study into the Conservative Laestadianism in the chosen category of popular culture in this wider cultural products under study performa- sense and use the term ‘cultural products’ tively reiterate and produce the material and to refer to the specific works of popular cul- discursive orders of Laestadianism. Equally, ture examined in this study. they portray doing things differently, over- The cultural products studied here are turning rules and embodying disorder. The a part of a long continuum of representa- orders of Laestadianism become tangible tions of Laestadianism. The character of in the representations of everyday practices Lars Levi Laestadius and other notable and especially in the corporeal control of historical characters of the movement, as gender and sexuality. The political poten- well as different branches of Laestadianism tial of bodies lies in creating, affirming and have featured rather extensively in litera- challenging these orders. Secondly, the ture and movies, especially in Finland, conditions of the representations are them- but also in Sweden and Norway.4 A vast selves permeated by power structures (e.g. Butler 1993: 15). I identify power as part of the process wherein popular cultural rep- 4 Some examples of popular works include novels such as Timo Mukka’s Maa on syn resentations participate in giving mean- tinen laulu (1964), Anna-Maija Ylimau- ing to and making sense of Conservative la’s Papintyttö (1976), Hannu Raittila’s Ei Laestadianism. This is also a question of minulta mitään puutu (1998), Riikka Pelo’s
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 8 majority of these cultural representa- focus of the story. Within the parameters tions are historical stories, focusing on the of these four cultural products, common period of Laestadius’s lifetime in the mid themes can already be identified, such as and late 1800s, or on the more recent his- negotiations of the norms of the commu- tory of the movement, up until the 1970s. nity, leaving a religion, and questions of However, the focus of this study is neither gender and sexuality. By not restricting the on an extensive analysis of all the represen- study to a single genre, and instead includ- tations of Laestadianism, nor on the depic- ing examples from more traditional genres, tions of the movement’s past and its differ- such as literature and theatre perfor- ent branches in various countries.5 Instead, mances, to film and reality television, I aim I focus on representations of contemporary to reflect the ‘multimediality’ of today’s cul- Conservative Laestadianism. I am inter- tural environment. As scholars of religion, ested in a specific context; the early twenty- media, and culture remind us, studying the first century, wherein I place the emer- diversity of cultural products enables a dis- gence of several of the issues Conservative cernment of the conditions and resources Laestadianism is facing today. Thus, his- through which people practise and encoun- torical narratives are not included in this ter religious life (Lynch et al. 2012: 3). In study. In many works of popular culture, what follows, I briefly introduce the four Laestadianism also appears as the back- cultural products and my methodological ground to the story of a character, and such approach to their analysis. works were also excluded from this study. The first cultural product studied here is While four cultural products can hardly Kielletty hedelmä (Forbidden Fruit, 2009), a be considered to amount to a comprehen- fictional Finnish movie directed by Dome sive sample of Laestadianism in popular Karukoski, written for the screen and pro- culture, they can be considered to be rep- duced by Aleksi Bardy. It is a coming-of-age resentative; they are among the major pro- story about two Conservative Laestadian ductions published during the time-period, girls, Raakel and Maria. In the film, the aimed at a wide audience, and have contem- two girls leave the shelter of their religious porary Conservative Laestadianism as the community one summer and go out into the city searching for freedom. At the end Taivaan kantaja (2006), Tanja Kaarela’s of the movie, the two girls face the choice Saara (2013), and Paulina Rauhala’s sec- of either returning to their community or ond book Synninkantajat (2018). Several leaving it, and they arrive at opposing con- film adaptations, as well as plays, have been made based on many of these novels. clusions. Forbidden Fruit was a national Recently Laestadianism was also featured and international success. In Finland, over in an original crime drama series Kaikki 115,000 people saw the film in cinemas in synnit (2019). In Sweden and Norway, the year of its release, making it the third popular representations of Laestadianism most-watched Finnish film (Finnish Film include Mikael Niemi’s Populärmusik från Vittula (2000) and Koka Björn (2017), as Foundation 2020). Forbidden Fruit contin- well as the film Kautokeino-opprøret (2008) ues to be featured in the all-time favourite by Nils Gaup. Finnish films list, highlighting its popu- 5 For example, Laestadius and Laestadianism larity and wide audience (Elokuvauutiset. in the Swedish context in Tornedalian and Sami texts have been extensively studied by fi 2020). The film also participated in sev- Anne Heith (2018) and have been omitted eral international film festivals between from this study. 2009–11, and won more than ten prizes,
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 9 such as the Gold Dolphin for best film at features Sanni, a young woman with a back- the Festroia International Film Festival ground in Conservative Laestadianism, (Kielletty hedelmä, IMDb 2020). who has recently left the movement. Sanni’s The second cultural product exam- story focuses on her struggle with identity ined in this study is We Sinners (2012), and the expectations and norms of her reli- a critically acclaimed debut novel by a gious community and her new life. Mostly young American-Finnish writer, Hanna the show depicts the mundane life of Sanni: Pylväinen. It is one of the very few works her relationship with her then fiancée of literary fiction written in English which Roman, her work and studies, Sanni brush- features Laestadianism. The novel brought ing her teeth, choosing her clothes, visiting the movement into international atten- relatives, agonising over her insecurities, tion in an unprecedented manner and, planning her wedding, and going out with thus, including it in a study of key con- friends, but also visiting her relatives, who temporary representations of Conservative remain within the movement, and attend- Laestadianism is well justified, even though ing Conservative Laestadian religious gath- the setting of the story differs from that erings. Sanni’s story highlights the ways of the other three stories. We Sinners fol- in which an individual might manage the lows the Rovaniemis, a family of eleven transformation of identity after exiting with Finnish origins, who belong to the a religious community. The season two Laestadian Lutheran Church, a sister organ- featuring Sanni’s story was a nominee of isation of Conservative Laestadianism, in the Finnish Television Academy’s Golden the modern-day American Midwest. The Venla Award for the best reality programme Rovaniemis balance between meeting the of 2013 (Kultainen Venla 2013). expectations of a well-knit religious com- The fourth cultural product studied here munity and secular society; as the children is a theatre play based on Pauliina Rauhala’s grow up, some of them stay in the move- acclaimed debut novel Taivaslaulu (Heaven ment while some leave. The novel is not an song, 2013). The novel was the publisher’s autobiography, but draws heavily on the bestselling debut novel, with over 40,000 author’s personal background; Pylväinen is copies sold, and it won a number of national a fourth-generation Finnish immigrant and prizes, such as the Christian book of the her family is Laestadian, while she herself year award (Gummerus Publishers 2020). has left the church. We Sinners appeared on Heavensong is a contemporary story of a Amazon’s Best Books of the Month list, and young Conservative Laestadian couple and was noted by, for example, The New York their family. The author has a background Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe in the movement, but has since disaffili- and The Chicago Tribune (Amazon 2020; ated from Conservative Laestadianism. Pylväinen 2020). Heavensong is a love story, but also a story The third cultural product examined about the pressure put upon women as a here expands the perspective from fiction consequence of conservative views on birth to reality television. Iholla (On the Skin) is control – in Conservative Laestadianism, a documentary reality television show in reproduction is a religious issue (Ruoho which ordinary Finnish women are given and Ilola 2014). In the story, Vilja and video cameras to film their everyday life for Aleksi grow up in the Oulu area, some- six months. Aired on the Finnish Ava chan- times labelled as the Finnish ‘Bible belt’. nel in spring 2013, season two of the series The couple fall in love, marry, and start a
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 10 growing family. Vilja’s repeated pregnan- representation originating from outside cies eventually land her in hospital suffering the movement, the reality television show from severe depression. At the end of the On the Skin depicts real people who either novel, the husband Aleksi secretly under- belong to or previously belonged to the goes sterilisation, hoping to give Vilja time movement. The authors of We Sinners and to recover. This leads to Aleksi being cast Heavensong base their stories on their lived out of the community, while Vilja remains experiences within the religious communi- within. In 2015, the novel was adapted into ties they are describing, but, like Sanni in a theatre play Heavensong by two Finnish the reality television show, they have dis- theatres, in Tampere and in Oulu, further tanced themselves from Laestadianism. In highlighting the story’s popularity. I have this study, I am not aiming to compare the focused especially on the play by Oulu cultural products to lived reality, but rather, City Theatre,6 scripted by Seija Holma and take these representations seriously as a directed by Heta Haaperä (OUKA 2020). part of the reality, as they participate in cre- The play was a success in the author’s home- ating experiences and a comprehension of town of Oulu: 77 performances between the world we live in (Hall 2000: 15). September 2015 and December 2016, and Methodologically, I have analysed each 34,750 people seeing the play, made it one of the four popular cultural products sep- of the most popular performances of the arately, and then in a later phase, I have theatre’s history (Teatterin Taikaa 2017). analysed them together to form a synthe- The cultural products studied here are sis of the representations of Conservative popular interpretations of Conservative Laestadianism. To begin with, I have asked Laestadianism. As such, they have been how Conservative Laestadianism is por- influenced by, and have an effect on, the trayed in the cultural products. This type public discussion surrounding the move- of holistic reading (van Manen 2016) aims ment. Regardless of being different genres, to find key content of the material. I have they are all aimed at wide audiences, and looked at what kinds of things, people, have been seen and read by people both places, characteristics, and practices are outside of and within the Conservative connected to Laestadianism. I have also Laestadian movement. The studied cul- paid attention to what is portrayed as non- tural products somewhat blur the boundar Laestadian. During this analytical phase, ies between fictional and autobiographical I became increasingly aware of the sig- narrations, as well as ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ nificance of the representation of bodies perspectives on the movement. While and the embodiment of religion in com- the film Forbidden Fruit is a fictional municating Conservative Laestadianism. In the second phase of the analysis, I focused my attention more specifically on 6 In addition to studying the actual per- the role of representations of corporeality formance in the theatre by attending the play and its rehearsal, and reviewing a film in Conservative Laestadianism. This was recording of the play and reading the script, the phase of selective reading (van Manen I have interviewed the director and the four 2016) wherein the analysis focused on par- actors in the leading roles. I also collected ticular phenomena that appeared crucial to experiences from the audience via an open questionnaire. This material is further ana- understanding the research subject. I asked lysed in a full-length study of the play, see what are the embodied ways, manners, Wallenius-Korkalo 2018b. acts, and feelings that signify and make
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 11 sense of Conservative Laestadianism. With Care, longing, and control the represented body as my analytical loca- In this article, I have taken the perspective tion, I focused on the micro-level: on preg- of corporeality as my focal point in order to nant bellies, painted toenails, hands joined examine how Conservative Laestadianism in prayer or busy making food, on feelings is represented in popular culture. As a syn- of safety, joy, anxiety, and exhaustion. thesis of the representations of Conserva Through the analysis of the body, I tive Laestadianism, I propose a dynamic was also able to trace the interaction of triad of care, longing, and control (Figure). bodies and things, shedding light on the cultural, discursive, and material condi- tions and structures that the representa- tions of Conservative Laestadian bodies are embedded in. Thus, corporeality here does not merely translate into singular bodies, but instead, corporeality is a means and medium for studying the construction of Conservative Laestadianism; a way to look at a community and society (Shilling 2012: 250). In addition to representations Figure. Dynamics of care, longing, and control: and corporeality, I used the analytical con- representations of corporeal Conservative cepts of gender, agency, belonging, identity, Laestadianism in popular culture. and performativity to structure the analysis of the cultural products. My analysis thus I suggest that corporeal Conservative combined and alternated between data- Laestadianism is manifested in the popu- based and theory-based analysis. In the lar culture products under study here as later phase, I re-read the material in order an interplay of, and tension between, care, to formulate ways in which Conservative longing, and control. These three aspects Laestadianism is embodied in the repre- are crystallizations of the representations sentations. Based on what the characters of Conservative Laestadianism that also in the cultural products are made to con- call for framing a societal discussion on sider to be viable, desirable, and legitimate Laestadianism. In the following, I take a Conservative Laestadian forms of appear- closer look at each of the three aspects. ance, actions and experiences, and how Care these norms and practices are presented to Care is all those things people do to main- be lived and often struggled with, I synthe- tain, continue and repair the world they tised a triad of care, longing, and control. inhabit (Tronto and Fisher 1990: 40). Care In what follows, I discuss that triad in more here, thus, refers to acts of taking care of depth.7 each other that simultaneously maintain the community. In the popular cultural rep- 7 Here I focus on presenting the key results resentations, Conservative Laestadianism of the synthesis based on the dissertation, is embodied in practices of care. Care is see Wallenius-Korkalo 2018a. For more detailed analysis of each of the four cul- tural products see also Wallenius-Korkalo 2016; Wallenius-Korkalo 2017; Wallenius- 2013; Wallenius-Korkalo and Valkonen Korkalo 2018b.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 12 the corporeal and emotional way in which The female characters will even look at each Laestadianism is acted out and lived in the others’ bellies first, and into their eyes only everyday. Mundane chores from cook- after. Repeated pregnancies and non-use of ing to looking after children are actions of contraception significantly dictate the life care that support the Laestadian lifestyle. choices of Conservative Laestadian women Care is focused on family members, especi in the representations and while some char- ally children, but also between spouses acters embrace motherhood, some struggle and towards other believers. Family is with these expectations. often regarded as the basic unit of the The fact that some ways of caring are Conservative Laestadian faith; a miniature represented, or can be interpreted, as femi of the community (e.g. Hurtig 2013b) and nine does not, however, mean that such the care provided for the family reflects the practices would be feminine in themselves wider concern and care given within the or that men would be unable to take on such community. roles and to perform the same acts. Still, if The forms of care prevalent in the rep- men act in ways that are generally thought resentations could be characterised as of as feminine, breaking the conventional feminine or motherly. Taking care of the gender norms, they might encounter some household and nurturing the children are resistance (Jokinen 2004: 6; Tronto and examples of the types of traditional care Fisher 1990: 36). This is exactly what hap- considered feminine and practised by pens to Aleksi in Heavensong. As a young almost all female characters represented boy, he prefers to help his mother with in the cultural products studied here. cooking and taking care of his siblings. The female characters of We Sinners and Aleksi’s sisters make fun of him for this Heavensong participate in the organisa- and his father tries to direct Aleksi towards tion of religious meetings by doing chores more masculine chores, such as chopping behind the scenes, such as cooking and firewood. Even as an adult Aleksi is seen baking. In their homes they learn to par- to be taking exceptional care of his family, ticipate at a young age – Leena, one of the not only providing for the family, but also Rovaniemi siblings in We Sinners, to help supporting the emotional and physical wel- her mother gets up at night to clean the fare of his wife and children. Meanwhile house – and even outside of home the char- Aleksi’s wife Vilja finds out she does not fit acters are often portrayed working in vari into the conventional role of a woman in ous kinds of caring services such as edu- Laestadianism, as she becomes exhausted cation and nursing. The primary role for and eventually depressed, and thus unable women within Conservative Laestadianism to take care of her family. What is con- is, however, first and foremost that of a sidered normal or the norm, is pointedly mother (Kutuniva 2007: 27–9; Ruoho revealed when someone is acting against it. and Ilola 2014). The character of a caring In addition to more concrete or material mother is found in all the representations, forms of care, pastoral care and counsel- but most focally discussed in Heavensong. ling form an integral part of care in repre- Heavensong especially emphasises the sentations of Conservative Laestadianism. embodied experience of childbearing. Being Prayers, hymns, and services, as well as pregnant, giving birth, and raising children the practice of asking for absolution from is the ideal of how Conservative Laestadian family members, reflect the spiritual care women are supposed to live out their faith. given among the community of believers.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 13 From a gender perspective, it is typical for (Be)Longing male characters to perform this type of role In addition to an emphasis on care, popu- in the representations; men are portrayed lar cultural representations of Conservative performing acts of pastoral care or as reli- Laestadianism highlight longing. Longing gious authorities in all the cultural prod- refers to the human longing for belong ucts in this study. The men might, however, ing, for being part of something bigger. It experience difficulties in taking on these includes longing for God, and for other roles – in the same way as it might be diffi- people; spiritual and corporeal. The word cult for the female characters to adapt to the ‘belonging’ itself combines both the be-ing, role of being a mother. Both We Sinners and and the longing (Bell 1999: 1; Probyn 1996). Heavensong feature a father character who The idea of Conservative Laestadianism is reluctantly becomes a layman preacher. formed in and through sensual and affec- While pastoral care aims at ensuring the tive experiences that either tie the charac- welfare of the people and the community, ters to the religious community, or distance it does not always succeed in this.8 In fact, them from it. Finding comfort and solace it might be harmful or a violation for both as well as the ability to gather strength and the individual and the community, as it is carry on in the face of adversities are part at times portrayed in the representations – of the Conservative Laestadian narrative, for example, young girls are oppressed by while doubts and misgivings are signs of the elders in Forbidden Fruit, and a father a division growing between an individual denounces his son in Heavensong. and the religious community. Longing for Care implies a question; to whom does togetherness and belonging becomes tan- the care extend? Is care similar for those gible in shared religious rituals, but also in inside and outside of the movement; will the ways in which Laestadianism includes it cease if a person leaves the Laestadian conventions of habitus and dress. The ways community? Who we care for is inevit in which we dress locate ourselves and ably a question of the boundaries of our others in our social environments (Arthur communities – acts of care build up a 1999: 3) – modesty in dress and non-use of sense of togetherness, but also define who make-up or jewellery is especially charac- belongs to ‘us’ (Yuval-Davis 2011: 195). teristic of Conservative Laestadian women In the Forbidden Fruit, the relationship (Kutuniva 2007: 21). Cohesion and distinc- between a girl who leaves Conservative tiveness are thus communicated through Laestadianism and her own mother is the outward appearance of Conservative dramatically changed. On the other hand, Laestadian characters. Sanni in On the in the reality-television series On the Skin, Skin is considering whether or not she the boundaries between those who are wants to wear earrings to Conservative active members of the movement and those Laestadian summer services as this would who are on the outside are more gradual be an act of proclaiming that she has dis- and under near-constant negotiation. tanced herself from the movement. Female characters in Forbidden Fruit, We Sinners and Heavensong signal religious doubts or 8 On the discussion of meetings of pastoral rebellion against the religious community care in Conservative Laestadianism see e.g. Linjakumpu 2013; in fiction, this thematic by using make-up or using nail polish. is strongly featured in Pauliina Rauhala’s A key feature in the representations is second novel Synninkantajat (2018). longing and desire for other people. Most
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 14 of the stories are love stories. However, for heterosexual intimacy and sexuality physical intimacy and sex are not unprob- is a crucial aspect of the continuity of the lematic. Corporeal lust and sexual desire, movement. Despite a high number of particularly, are portrayed as threats to people leaving Conservative Laestadianism the religious community. Premarital sex, (Valkila 2013), the movement keeps its use of contraception within marriage, and membership somewhat steady because homosexual love, are issues in the lives of of the notably high birth rate rather than the characters which are repeatedly being because of conversion or missionary work debated. Sexual behaviour in Conservative (Linjakumpu 2015: 209). This causes a Laestadianism is structured and restricted tension between the expectation of mul- through religious morality – although tiple childbirths, sufficiency of individual attempts to control sexuality are, to some resources, and what’s actually wanted in extent, present in most, if not all, religions terms of family size. Heavensong focuses (Hunt and Yip 2012: 3–4). In the repre- especially on the mother’s struggle with sentations studied, the homosexuality9 of reconciling her religious conviction and Simon Rovaniemi in the novel We Sinners, inability to cope with the growing size of illustrates the way in which homosexual her family. orientation causes a crisis of conscience for both Simon and his family. Homosexuality Control is seen as a grave sin that makes it impos The third aspect I highlight is control, sible for Simon to belong to the commu- which governs the life of Conservative nity. An internalised sense of sin and the Laestadians in the popular cultural rep- experience that one is not worthy of God’s resentations. Control refers to regulation love or the membership of the religious of bodies, to norms, skills, and practices community leads to religious melancholy, and to the boundary work that determines which is typical of Evangelical Christian what is expected of members of the com- movements (Rubin 2000: 6, 211). Contrary munity. When the characters debate whom to what one might think, in the representa- they care for, control is present. Moreover, tions the experience of sin or being a sinner while choosing to follow a coherent dress does not necessarily lead one away from code or deciding not to use make up might the community – sin is a shared feeling. testify to togetherness and belonging, these The lack of grace and forgiveness from the actions are part of the control of the group, community does however separate an indi- too. If a character – such as Nels, one of vidual from the group. the Rovaniemi siblings in We Sinners, or Homosexual longing forces the indi- the girls in the Forbidden Fruit, as well as vidual to weigh their being and life choices Sanni in the reality television show – is against both the standards of their religious dancing at a night club, or using alcohol, community and their personal spirituality, or if one is questioning religious teachings while heterosexual desire attests to a desire on the internet like Aleksi, or pondering to belong in the community (Kejonen and a hysterectomy like Vilja in Heavensong, Ratinen 2016: 6, 17). Furthermore, longing they are acting against the community and risk taking the consequences of their 9 Homosexuality is discouraged, and homo- transgressions. sexual acts are generally forbidden in Laes- The most notable embodiment of tadianism (Kejonen 2014). religious control in popular cultural
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 15 representations are the laymen preach- and in Forbidden Fruit the girls experi ers; Conservative Laestadian elder men, ence physical symptoms, such as shaking with their habitus of sternness and sever- and nausea, after breaking religious norms. ity and strict interpretations of faith. Such Typically, the stories in the representations characters can be found in all the studied revolve around what happens when the representations, much like the figure of the rules of the religious community are chal- caring Conservative Laestadian mother. lenged or broken. Often this leads to the However, unlike the ‘mother’, their way of rebellious character leaving10 the move- taking care of their parish resembles dis- ment. At other times, stretching the bound- ciplinary power that regulates the members aries of community might lead to minute of the community and controls their ac- changes in the Conservative Laestadian tions (Linjakumpu 2013: 107–8). In For lifestyle. bidden Fruit, for example, the Conservative Even though I have presented the prin- Laestadian elders follow the girls to their ciples of care, longing, and control here apartment in the city to check on them and separately, they are quite deeply inter- on several occasions it is specifically these twined and should rather be approached as characters who expel rebellious individuals the apexes of a single triangle (see Figure). from their communities. Care contains aspects of control, and con- Disciplinary power appears to be trol often implies an intention of care. authoritative and masculine in the repre- Similarly, longing includes elements of sentations studied here, but an internalised both care and control; a longing for God, normative power that regulates behaviour for inclusion into the religious community, (Nykänen 2013: 155–156) is present also and for other people creates caring emo- in everyday mundane interactions between tions and practices on one hand, and, on any of the characters. The Conservative the other hand, might contribute to con- Laestadians of the representations observe trolling behaviour. The dynamics of care, and keep watch over themselves and each longing, and control are indicative of the other as they strive to lead a good and ways in which, to an outside observer, righteous life according to the religious Laestadianism might look like a commu- norms. Even arbitrary, seemingly insignifi nity which is held together by control and cant deviations might lead to severe con- rules, while from the inside the caring sequences. In Heavensong, Vilja’s mother aspects of the community seem prevalent. is reported to have been seen wearing nail However, neither one of these perspectives polish on her toes by another Conservative Laestadian mother, who had spotted her in the shower of the maternity ward. This 10 Leaving Conservative Laestadianism can leads to a pastoral care meeting being con- also mean changing positions within reli- vened and a demand for her public repent- gious tradition (cf. Ensted et al. 2019: 1). In Finland, Conservative Laestadianism is ance in order to avoid expulsion from the officially part of the Evangelical Lutheran community. Internalised control is also Church and leaving Laestadianism does not repeatedly portrayed in terms of the con- necessarily mean leaving the church. For sumption of cultural products: Sanni in the example, Raakel’s character in the Forbid- den Fruit visits the more liberal Lutheran reality television show agonises over make- church and continues to wear a religious up and alcohol usage even after leaving symbol, a cross necklace, while distancing the Conservative Laestadian community, herself form Conservative Laestadianism.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 16 alone captures the full range of the experi- tions it is possible to outline the ways in ences of lived Conservative Laestadianism. which Conservative Laestadianism is pres The three apexes of the triangle are ent in societal debate and in the cultural also contrasting forces. In relation to the imagination, and also to identify some of continuity of Conservative Laestadianism the focal issues that the movement is faced and the way the community is chang- with today. Struggles for Conservative ing, care, longing, and control can act as Laestadian identity, agency, and belong- motors for change, or as anchors for sta- ing – questions of who can belong to the bility. Longing for togetherness might pull community and on what conditions, what individuals more tightly into the commu- happens at the borderlines of the commu- nity, but longing for love and finding mean- nity – are all emphasised through the rep- ingful relationships outside Laestadianism resentations. The struggles of Conservative might just as well push people away. Care Laestadianism are characteristically gen- maintains community, but the existence of dered and revolve around the regulation limits to the giving of care – towards ex- of sexuality and reproduction. The posi- members for example – make the borders tion of those who have left the movement of the community explicit and harder to is of importance too; the chance to discuss cross. Control keeps the community cohe- possibly difficult experiences related to reli- sive, but, at the same time, it might evoke gious exit and perhaps finding new ways to doubt, dissatisfaction, and even rebellion. identify with the movement as an integral Balancing between care, longing and con- part of one’s background. trol is the tension that upholds a close com- Studying Conservative Laestadianism munal collective such as Laestadianism. through its representations is, however, not Without any one of these aspects, the com- without problems. Popular culture inevit munity might have trouble remaining ably oversimplifies religious communities intact. Without some control, regulation and might emphasise negative stereotypes and governance, it is very hard for a com- – Conservative Laestadians too are often munity to be particularly identifiable, or presented as a religious ‘other’, by contrast work together towards common goals. On with the secular majority (Sjö and Häger the other hand, if either the aspect of care 2015: 40–1). The cultural products stud- or longing should be missing between an ied here draw attention to, even stress, the individual and the community, the aspect potential sensitivities, problems and blind of control might become over-emphasised spots in the religious community, such as and religious membership experienced as the position of women or sexual minorities. enchaining and coercive; the experiences Furthermore, few individual characters in of those who have left the movement often fiction or reality television can neither reflect similar processes. embody all the variety of the lived experi- ence of Conservative Laestadianism, nor Conclusions be representative of all the experiences of In this article, I have examined the ways in the people negotiating their relationship which Conservative Laestadianism is por- with the movement, either within or at the trayed in the popular culture of the twenty- borders of the community. However, the first century, and, especially, how religion is cultural products studied here bring out embodied in its representations. Through a lot of diversity in the ways Conservative the study of popular cultural representa- Laestadianism is portrayed to be lived and
Approaching Religion • Vol. 10, No. 1 • May 2020 17 experienced in the everyday, and empha- be extended to other struggles of belong- sise mundane struggles and happiness that ing, tensions of inclusion and exclusion, are very relatable, regardless of religious and cohabitation of different religious and differences. The stories or the characters cultural traditions within the societies that cannot be narrowed down to black and they inhabit. white stereotypes; on the contrary, they are multilayered representations that cannot be Dr. Sandra Wallenius- easily categorised. Korkalo is a University Lecturer in Political While the dynamics of care, longing, Sciences at the Uni- and control encapsulate the ways in which versity of Lapland, Conservative Laestadianism is mediated in Finland. Her research the representations of the movement, fur- interests include poli- ther questions might be asked concern- tics of religion, gen- ing what the particular potential of popu der, corporeality, and representations. Her lar culture in communicating religion publications on the is. What happens when people encoun- Laestadian movement consists of several jour- ter Conservative Laestadianism through nal articles, book chapters, a doctoral disserta- its representations? I propose that popu- tion, and a co-edited anthology Politiikka, talous ja lar culture calls for a dialogue between työ. Lestadiolaisuus maailmassa (Lapland Univer- sity Press 2019). In addition, she has worked on Conservative Laestadianism and society embodied writing, feminist theorisation, North- at large. Encounters with representations ern culture, and social change. She was one of of Conservative Laestadianism could be the editors of Progress or Perish: Northern Perspec approached as situated, corporeal, multi tives on Social Change (Ashgate 2010). sensory, and affective political events. They draw attention to the potential issues References within the religious community, but also to Sources and other materials the need to recognise and confront same- Amazon, 2020. ‘We Sinners: A Novel’, Amazon. com,
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