The Constitution and secular laws secure the freedom of religion and the rights of religious and non-religious minorities. The freedom of religion in Finland is enshrined in the Freedom of Religion Act.
For historical reasons, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Orthodox Church of Finland hold special status and they are governed by special legislation.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church ‘s own organ, the General Synod uses the highest authority to make decisions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It deals with doctrine and Church work as well as with its legislation, administration and finance. The national Parliament, which must ultimately ratify church law, has no right to alter the content of the proposals it receives from the Synod: all proposals must be either accepted in their original form or rejected altogether.
The Orthodox Church of Finland has a special institutional status. The Orthodox Church adopts a church constitution which provides more precise stipulations for church activities and administration.
The Finnish state is neutral with regard to religions and churches. However, there are close institutional and legislative links between the State and the Church.