costals have their own fixed quarters, and elsewhere in Finnish centers in Minnesota.

Catholicism : Although there have been considerable numbers of Catholics in the regions of Finnish settlement, and contact with Catholics has been constant, that faith has made almost no headway among the Finns. The only exceptions have been those who have been converted as a result of marriage with Catholics. In such mixed marriages, the children have been claimed by the Catholic faith almost without exception.

In examining Finnish-American church activity as a whole, one may consider the evaluation of Robin M. Williams: "In their new homeland the Finnish-Americans have not changed into opponents of religion; they have merely joined that large body of Americans which is more or less indifferent toward religion." However, this statement is valid only in respect to the younger generation. There have indeed been many conflicts when the elders have preserved their cherished religious convictions but their children have been unwilling or unable, because of language difficulties, to remain like their parents. "My position is very difficult. My mother is very religious and considers my ideas to be tearing her heart to pieces. I have my own ideas, which I learned in school, and of which she knows nothing, and I would rather attend dances with English-speaking people than take part in religious services of which I understand nothing," so stated a younger generation Finn in 1933 in an interview in H. G. Duncan's study on Immigration and Assimilation. In another instance, Antti J. Pietilä, in his Amerikankävijän havaintoja ja ajatuksia, states the observations of a Finn to the effect that Finnish-Americans by and large cannot be considered to be frequent church goers. According to him, perhaps one out of three is truly religious, the rest indifferent (and only in a very few instances anti-religious.) In October 1914, the Päivälehti had already devoted a lead editorial to the empty pews in Finnish-American churches and had come to the conclusion that the causes were to be found in the many trivial conflicts which had fragmented the church into so many directions and in the intolerance of preachers toward those of different faiths. However, if one were to take into consideration the hundreds of Finnish churches in Minnesota, and that great perseverence which has been devoted on various sectors in the religious field, one cannot deny the positive results of this colorful chapter in the Finnish-American chronicle.

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