Prometheus Camps as an Alternative to the

Finnish
Confirmation Camps
Kalle Miller, Fall 2013 (US)
ENGA14 Finnish Institutions Research Paper (Hopkins)
English Translation and Interpreting (ETI) Curriculum
School of Language, Translation, and Literary Studies, University of Tampere

In Finland, most 15-year-olds attend a Confirmation Camp to confirm their faith and their wish
to stay in the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Since 1989, there has also existed in Finland a
non-religious alternative for Confirmation Camps as a coming of age ritual, the Prometheus
Camps. Over time the popularity of Prometheus Camps has grown up to the point where they
now are a relatively well-known alternative to the Confirmation Camps among youth in
Finland, and as such, a Finnish institution. What similarities and differences exist between
Confirmation Camps and Prometheus Camps? What were the origins of Prometheus Camps
and how have the camps changed over time?

Confirmation Camps in Finland

It can be said that Confirmation Camps are in a way a model and an inspiration for
Prometheus Camps. If Confirmation Camps did not exist and were not as massively popular
as they are in Finland, Prometheus Camps probably would not exist either. For this reason
Confirmation Camps will also be discussed in this paper.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the largest church in Finland, with a
membership of 76.4 per cent of the population in 2012 (Seurakuntien). In the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, it is customary to hold confirmation training, typically for fifteen-year-olds. In
fact, the popularity of confirmation training exceeds that of the church organizing it; in 2012,
83 percent of Finnish fifteen-year-olds had confirmation training. It is also very common to
attend a Confirmation Camp. In 2011, approximately 90 percent of the people attending
confirmation training had a camp as part of it (Varhaiskasvatus). The camp form might be one
possible explanation for the popularity of the confirmation training, and possibly also for the
(relative) popularity of the Prometheus Camps. Attending a coming-of-age camp is the norm
in Finland, even more so than being a member of the church. This has not always been the
case, however. While confirmation training in Finland dates back to the 17th century (Pruuki,
Rippikoulun 39), the popularity of the camps as a part of the training is a much more recent
phenomenon. In 1971, 36 percent of confirmation programs were conducted in camp form,
and by 1989 the percentage had gone up to 76.8 (Confirmation).
There is confirmation training in other countries as well, but the popularity of the confirmation
training in camp form in Finland is quite exceptional. A survey conducted in the Lutheran
churches of 6 countries, (Finland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Norway) and in
the Reformed Church of Switzerland in 2007 and 2008 shows that the percentage of
confirmation training with a camp period as a part of it as well as the typical length of the
camp period varies from one country to another. The relatively long camp periods that are
typical in Finland were, however, quite rare, and more typically confirmation training was
conducted in the form of weekly meetings, and the camp periods often were shorter than the
one week that is typical in Finland (Niemel and Pruuki 79-81). Also in many countries the
attendance rates of confirmation training in general are considerably lower than in Finland.
For example, in Sweden 34 per cent, in Norway 67 per cent, and in Denmark 72 per cent of t
he youth attended confirmation training in 2007 (Niemel 11).
In recent years, the Catholic Church in Finland and the Orthodox Church of Finland have also
started organizing Confirmation Camps, although they are not a tradition in either church
(Tanttu). This further shows how prevalent the Confirmation Camp is in Finland.

The aim of the confirmation training, according to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is that
"young people, having received through holy baptism a faith in the triune God, should be
reinforced in this faith; that they should grow in their love for their fellow human beings, and
live a life of prayer in communion with the parish" (Basic). Basically this means teaching the
youth about Christianity. Typical teaching methods at Confirmation Camps include among
others discussion, reading the bible, group work, singing together, telling stories, lecturing,
meditation, prayer and playing games (Niemel and Pruuki 85).

Prometheus Camps as an Alternative to Confirmation Camps

Prometheus Camps are politically and religiously unaffiliated coming-of-age camps which
have been arranged in Finland since 1989 (Prometheus-leirit). While they were originally
created as a non-religious alternative to the Confirmation Camps, Prometheus Camps differ
from Confirmation Camps in many ways.
The camps are organized by the Prometheus Camp Association, or Prometheus-leirin tuki ry,
in Finnish. The purpose of the association is to "arrange politically and religiously unaffiliated
coming-of-age training, with the objective to support the youth in building their own view of
life. In addition the purpose is to secure a possibility for coming-of-age training for irreligious
youth and youth who do not belong to a religious group" (Yhdistyksen snnt).
Prometheus Camps are led by teams consisting of two adult camp leaders and five coleaders between the ages of 15 and 19 who themselves have previously attended a
Prometheus Camp (Prometheus-leirit). Both the leaders and co-leaders attend two weekendlong trainings before the camp, although adult camp leaders who have previously led a camp
can attend only one training if they wish, or even none, although it is recommended to attend
at least one training every year. The teams also meet before the camp, and plan the schedule
for the camp together (Kaisalmi).
At the Prometheus Camps, there are several themes that are discussed during the week.
These themes are differences, prejudice and discrimination; drugs, alcohol and addiction;
society and making a difference in it; the future; world views, ideologies and religions;
personal relationships and sexuality; and the environment. Discussion is the most important
method these themes are processed, but there are others, such as debates and games
(Teemat).
In addition to the regular Prometheus Camps, there are also special Prometheus camps. In
2013, two theater camps, three visual arts camps, a hiking camp, a music camp and a
physical exercise camp will be organized (Erikoisleirit). In addition to these, there will be four
camps for youth between the ages of 16 and 20 and two camps for adults (Seniorileirit,
Aikuisleirit). Also, for people who have already attended a Prometheus Camp, there will be
two weekend-long camps during the autumn, and one week-long camp in the winter as wel as
one in the summer (Jatkoleirit).
The Prometheus Camp Association receives financial support from the Finnish Ministry of
Education and Culture, but most of the money necessary to organize the camps comes from
camp fees and membership fees. The camp leaders receive no payment for their work except
to cover travel expenses, and in fact all the rest of the work done in the association is
voluntary, except for two paid office workers. The cooks at the camps and the trainings also
receive some compensation (Prometheus-leirit).

History of Prometheus Camps

The first Prometheus Camp was organized in 1989 by Filosofian ja elmnkatsomustiedon
opettajat FETO ry [Finnish Philosophy and Life Stance teachers' coalition]. The idea for a
secular coming-of-age camp came from students of Life Stance education (Prometheus-leirit),
which is a school subject in Finnish schools for those students who do not attend Religious
Education. Prometheus Camps were named after the titan Prometheus, from Greek

mythology, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans (Prometheus-myytti). In 1990
Prometheus-leirin tuki ry (the Prometheus Camp Association) was founded, and it has been
responsible for organizing the camps ever since (Protu-yhdistys).
The number of people attending Prometheus Camps has grown considerably since 1989.
During that first summer, one camp was held. In 2013, there will be approximately 70 camps
and 700 campers. The growth seems to have peaked, though. In 2013 there will be fewer
campers than there were in 2012, and the numbers have been quite stable for some years.
According to Aino Kaisalmi, a recruiter in Prometheus Camp Association, the reasons for this
stagnation are that there are not enough volunteers and resources for a greater number of
camps. Also, not everyone is interested in attending a Prometheus Camp; in a way the
potential target audience of the camps has largely already been reached. The growth of
Prometheus Camps and of the supporting association has brought with it other phenomena
as well, and most changes that have happened can be seen as results of the growth
(Kaisalmi).
The Prometheus Camp Association has since the early years actively advertised Prometheus
Camps and sent people to schools to tell about them, for example. Nowadays most youth in
Finland have at least heard of Prometheus Camps, whereas earlier much fewer had. This has
led to Prometheus Camps becoming something less unusual in the eyes of people. Also,
among the people who attend Prometheus Camps these days there are more and more
ordinary young people, while earlier it used to be mostly certain kinds of youth (leftist,
politically aware, motivated) that attended, or at least that used to be the stereotype of a
Prometheus Camper.
Because there now are all kinds of youth among the campers, not only those who have gone
through some trouble to find out about the camps, there are now also more campers who are
more or less indifferent about attending a camp. This has led to an increase in disciplinary
problems, which used to be virtually nonexistent before. Because the camp co-leaders have
all attended a camp in previous years, the fact that there are more campers that don't fit the
stereotype has also led to a co-leader base with a more diverse set of world views, which can
certainly be seen as a healthy development considering the aim to provide politically and
religiously unaffiliated coming-of-age training (Kaisalmi).
In 2010, the rules of Prometheus Camp Association were changed to better take into account
a growing number of Christian youth attending Prometheus Camps (Kaisalmi). Until then, the
purpose of the association had officially been "to arrange coming-of-age training for youth
who do not belong to a religious group, to draw up directions for the training, to train the
leaders of the coming-of-age training, to inform about the training and to keep contact with
communities that organize similar training abroad: (Yhdistyksen tarkoituksena). This was
changed to the current form, where the youth who do not belong to a religious group are not
such a key part of the purpose. This was most of all a symbolical change, as religious youth
had been welcome to attend Prometheus Camps before that, but this change possibly
encouraged even more religious youth to attend Prometheus Camps. Also, it helped to fight
the (somewhat common) misconception that atheism would be preached at the camps
(Kaisalmi). The details of what exactly the association does were also moved to later in the
text when these changes were made.
There are, as mentioned before in this paper, certain special Prometheus Camps that are
organized annually. These special camps have not always been the same as they are now,
however. In the beginning there were only regular Prometheus Camps. Later there used to be
camps that were held on a boat, as well as ecological camps, that were held at a farm
community that strived for self-sufficiency, but neither of these are no longer organized. There
also used to be an annual English-speaking Prometheus Camp held, but those are also no
longer organized. The problem with the English-speaking camps was that there were not
enough attendants for them, and many of the campers came from Germany and spoke
German with each other, which led to the other campers feeling alienated. Surprisingly there
used to be no shortage of camp leaders for the English-speaking camps (Kaisalmi).

There has been other interest in Prometheus Camps abroad, as well. In 2008 in Sweden,
Protus Sverige, a sister organization of the Prometheus Camp Association in Finland, was
founded, and they have been organizing similar camps since 2009 (Om Protus). While Protus
Sverige is a separate association from the Prometheus Camp Association, and the camps in
Sweden are not identical to Prometheus Camps in Finland, Prometheus Camps were used as
a model for the Protus Camps, and the two camps are quite similar. There are also plans to
bring similar camps to Russia, and in 2013 there will be one Russian person observing the
Prometheus Camps with the idea in mind to start similar activity in Russia (Kaisalmi).
One big change in recent years has been that there are now many adult camp leaders who
have themselves earlier attended a Prometheus Camp and acted as co-leaders, and who
therefore have a lot of experience of Prometheus Camps. This has led to a situation where
there is no longer a shortage of adult camp leaders, as there has sometimes been. Of course,
there still are many camp leaders who have no earlier experience of Prometheus Camps, but
because all the camp leaders are trained, this is not really a problem (Kaisalmi).

Location and Time Frame of the

Prometheus Camps
There are Prometheus Camps organized all over
Finland, (except in Lapland in the north) although
most of the camps are in southern Finland, where
most of the population is located. One area where
there has not been many camps in relation to the
population, and where the Prometheus Camp
Association has for some time tried to spread the
camps, is Ostrobothnia in western Finland
(Kaisalmi).
Prometheus Camps are arranged throughout the
Finnish summer; the first camps in 2013 will start
at the beginning of June and the last will end at the
middle of August. In addition, there are weekendlong camps organized during the autumn and
winter, but these are meant for people who have
already attended a Prometheus Camp before.
For the camp leaders and co-leaders, the
preparation for the camps starts well before the
summer, though. First they attend two weekendlong trainings during the spring, and an additional Picture
1:
one where they meet the rest of the team they will Prometheus
Camp
Locations,
2013
be working with. These teams also plan the Image Source: Protu
program for their camp. The program of each
Prometheus Camp follows certain guidelines, such as the themes mentioned earlier, but the
camp leaders can actually influence the details quite significantly.

Comparison with the Confirmation Camps

There are some similarities between Prometheus Camps and the Confirmation Camps
arranged by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. After all, Confirmation Camps have
been used as a model for Prometheus camps. It could still be argued, however, that their
many differences define their relationship more than the similarities.
The most obvious similarity between Confirmation Camps and Prometheus Camps is that
they both are conducted in camp form (although confirmation training can be done without the

camp, as well) during the summer. Also their duration is similar; Prometheus Camps last 8
days, and Confirmation Camps typically also last a week.
Another similarity is that at both camps games are usually played throughout the week. The
aim of them is to make the campers feel more like a group. The games that are played are
often quite silly and seemingly pointless, and the same kinds of games are often played in
both Confirmation Camps and Prometheus Camps.
After confirmation training, there is a confirmation ceremony, and at the end of Prometheus
Camps, there is also a ceremony where the campers' family members are welcome. These
ceremonies are of course quite different from each other, because one is a religious
ceremony with centuries of tradition, while the other is a much newer, non-religious
celebration.

Picture 2 (L) shows Prometheus campers at the end of the camp, wearing wreaths.
Picture 3 (R) shows newly-confirmed confirmation campers in the traditional 'albs', or white liturgical
vestments.
Image sources: Liisan protuleiri, Kauhavan seurakunta.

Confirmation Camps have previously-confirmed youth as camp co-leaders, the same way as
Prometheus Camps have campers from previous years as co-leaders. One difference here is
that the Confirmation Camp co-leaders are often paid (although not that much) while
Prometheus Camp co-leaders are voluntary.
The biggest difference between Prometheus Camps and Confirmation Camps is their
relationship with religion and the church. Confirmation Camps have a mission to strengthen
the campers' relationship with the church, while Prometheus Camps have no such mission. It
should be noted also that Prometheus Camps do not have a mission to steer people away
from the church, but rather to motivate them to ask questions about the world and find their
own answers to those questions. In fact, it is quite possible to attend both a Confirmation
Camp and a Prometheus Camp.
This ideological difference can be seen in many ways in how things are done in the camps. In
Confirmation Camps, religion plays a big role; the campers read the bible and pray, and they

are given lessons from the Christian point of view. In Prometheus Camps, religion is only one
of the themes discussed during the week; the campers are not taught any "right answers" but
rather are encouraged to give their own opinions and to argue why they think that way,
whereas at the Confirmation Camps the campers are given the right answers in a Christian
context. There are some values that Prometheus Camps try to pass on, however. According
to their web pages, these values are respecting humanity and taking responsibility of oneself
and of the world (Leiritoiminnan).
There is a difference in how things are done in practice at the camps, as well. Lassi Pruuki
found out in his 2010 study that teacher-centered methods made up 68 per cent of used
teaching methods in his data. The teacher lecturing or reading made up 28 per cent (Pruuki,
Miten 70). At Prometheus Camps this is a very rarely used method, and in fact calling them
"teaching methods" would not be exactly accurate, since there are no lessons that the
campers are required or supposed to learn. The most typical method used at Prometheus
Camps, equal discussion, made up only 4.1 per cent in Pruuki's study, so this is quite a major
difference (Pruuki, Miten 71).

Prometheus Camps and Confirmation Camps: Similar, Yet

Different
Prometheus Camps started in 1989 as a non-religious alternative to the Confirmation Camps
arranged by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, especially for irreligious youth. During
the past two decades they have grown from their humble origins to become a widely
recognized association in Finland, although their popularity is still very far from that of the
Christian Confirmation Camps. Prometheus Camps have some things in common with the
Confirmation Camps, but they still essentially provide a very different kind of experience,
because the purposes of the camps, as well as the methods used to reach those goals, are
different. The difference could be summarized as follows: Confirmation Camps offer answers;
Prometheus Camps offer questions. For this reason it can even be reasonable to attend both
camps, as some people do.
As Prometheus Camps have grown, they have evolved to include religious youth and have
become coming-of-age camps potentially for anyone. The growth has brought with it many
changes and challenges; it remains to be seen whether Prometheus Camps have reached a
state where they have reached most of their target audience, or whether they will continue to
grow.

Works Cited

Basic features of confirmation training. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Viewed 16 April 2013.
Confirmation Camps. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Viewed 16 April
2013.
Erikoisleirit. Prometheus-leirin tuki ry. Viewed 16 April 2013.
Jatkoleirit. Prometheus-leirin tuki ry. Viewed 16 April 2013.
Kaisalmi, Aino. Interview. 10 April 2013.
Leiritoiminnan periaatteet. Prometheus-leirin tuki ry. Viewed 27 April 2013.
Niemel, Kati. Johdanto. Rippikoulun todellisuus. Ed. Tapani Innanen and Kati
Niemel. Porvoo: WS Bookwell Oy, 2009.
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Pruuki, Lassi. Rippikoulun pikkujttilinen. Helsinki: LK-kirjat, 2010.

- - -. Miten rippikoulussa opetetaan? Rippikoulun todellisuus. Ed. Tapani Innanen and
Kati Niemel. Porvoo: WS Bookwell Oy, 2009.
Seurakuntienjsenist 2012. Keskushallinto Suomen ev. lut. kirkko. Viewed 16
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Tanttu, Kaisa. Muut kirkot ottavat mallia luterilaisesta rippileirist. Kotimaa24.fi.
Viewed 16 April 2013.
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