Finland Debates Unsolicited Religious Mailings

In May, Jukka Lindstedt, one of the Finnish Parliament's two deputy ombudsmen, issued a decision invalidating the general distribution of parish publications that includes sending them to homes that have not requested them. Lindstedt ruled that this was an unconstitutional infringement of freedom of religion of those who do not wish to receive the publications. NewsRoom Finland reported yesterday that a constitutional scholar, Veli-Pekka Viljanen, disagrees with Lindstedt's conclusion.