Kangas himself worked as the forces army chaplain in 1988-89 and 1993. In Finland commitment to the Church, belief in God s existence, and frequent praying as manifestations of religiousness and ecclesiastical interests are at their lowest among men of 25-40 years of age, which is exactly the age group that the peacekeeping forces represent. According to Kangas, this in a way offers the best possible starting point for the pastoral counselling of the defence forces. It is a challenge, since we are faced with expectations that we can fulfil.
Nothing is too ready.
We also have to ask how the national church should react to the fact that it fails to reach young and middle-aged men. The military parish is the same as the group of people who are present in a given situation. This levels out problems, since the military parish needs to find a communal, esprit de corps structure of significance. Nobody has a greater claim to being right than the next man. In an ordinary parish everyone has to agree and the group becomes smaller.