We’re used to hearing that free speech is being squashed in places like Iran or China. But Finland? According to Christianity Today, several Lutherans in that country are now on trial for “criminal incitement against a minority group—hate speech.” All for affirming the same beliefs about human sexuality Christians have held for thousands of years.

On the one hand, this is surprising. Finland is a Western country that prizes human rights and diversity of thought. On the other hand, this kind of thing is inevitable once it is assumed that any opposition to LGBT ideology “must” be born of hate and fear, and that hate speech isn’t protected speech. Then it becomes inevitable that society will seek to squash tenets of Christianity.  

Those who challenge the current sexual status quo do so out of love for neighbors, and it’s precisely ideas that the wider society finds distasteful that free speech is supposed to protect.  

What’s happening in Finland is a reminder that political decisions flow downstream from deeper cultural assumptions.