Abstract

In Finland the majority of the people speak Finnish as their mother tongue, while there is a minority of about 6 % of Swedish-speaking inhabitants. The curricula of the Swedish-speaking schools are identical to those of the Finnish-speaking ones. This investigation concerns the contents of the confessional Lutheran religious instruction at the gymnasium with respect to Jews and Judaism. The most difficult sections about Judaism after biblical times concern the question of the Jewish state and the situation in the Middle East. The instruction given at the gymnasium in religion to a great extent follows the textbooks. If this is correct, the standard of the teaching about the Jews and Judaism can be said to be rather high despite the fact that the textbooks contain small inadequacies.