Hengellisen ja maallisen rajalla - kamppailu seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden sosiaalisesta ja kulttuurisesta toimialueesta

Abstract

Väitöskirjatutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden toimialuetta kirkon päätöksentekojärjestelmän tasolla ammattien järjestelmän näkökulmasta. Kiinnostuksen kohteena olivat ammattikuntien väliset rajakamppailut ja -neuvottelut, joiden kautta seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden toimialuetta määritellään.

Tutkimus osoitti sen, kuinka kirkko toimintaympäristönä on vaikuttanut seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden sosiaalisen ja kulttuurisen toimialueen määrittämiseen. Seurakuntadiakonian muotoutumiseen on vaikuttanut evankelisluterilaisen kirkon rooli hyvinvointipalveluiden tuottamisessa eri aikoina. Kirkko on mahdollistanut ammatillisen seurakuntadiakonian säilymisen erilaisissa murrosvaiheissa, vaikka diakoniatyöntekijät ovat menettäneet toimialueitaan kuntien laajentaessa toimialuettaan hyvinvointivaltion rakentamisen kautena. Kirkko instituutiona on myös rajannut seurakuntien diakoniayöntekijöiden toimintaa kirkossa rajoittamalla heidän päätöksenteko-oikeuksiaan. Alisteinen asema kytkeytyi paitsi osaksi kamppailua miesten ja naisten välisestä työnjaosta myös kulttuuriseen ymmärrykseen kirkollisten tehtävien luonteesta. Ammatillisen seurakuntadiakonian hengellisen luonteen vahvistamisella on pyritty parantamaan seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden asemaa kirkossa.

Ammattien järjestelmän tasolla seurakuntien diakoniatyöntekijöiden toimialueen rajoista on neuvoteltu ja kamppailtu ennen kaikkea julkisen sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ammattien ja papin ammatin kanssa. Diakoniatyöntekijöiden toimialuetta on kaavailtu laajennettavan jumalanpalvelukseen ja kirkollisiin toimituksiin liittyviin tehtäviin, jotka perinteisesti ovat kuuluneet papeille. Kyseessä voi tulkita olevan diakoniatyöntekijöiden työn kulttuurinen muutosprosessi, jossa palvelua korostavan toimintakulttuurin sijaan työn perusteluja etsitään aikaisempaa vahvemmin kirkon oppirakennelmasta.

The object of the study is the jurisdiction of parish diaconal workers, which is observed in the light of the conceptions of organised actors, at the level of the church decision-making system. The methodological context is social constructionism, that is, the idea of how the reality is built, and how it is negotiated in social interaction. The sphere of operation of diaconal workers is seen as a civil and contextual phenomenon, which is maintained and modified socially and also culturally. The jurisdiction of diaconal workers is studied from the viewpoint of the system of professions. In the theoretical approach developed by Andrew Abbott, a sociologist who is part of the Interaction tradition, the jurisdiction contains both a social and cultural dimension. In this study the primary object of interest is the territorial struggles and negotiations between the professions, through which the jurisdiction of parish diaconal workers is defined. The analytic approach used in the boundary negotiation was the concept of Thomas F. Gieryn, a sociologist, boundarywork. Gieryn emphasises that the boundaries are varying definitions of actors who attend to their owns interests, and boundary-work is strategic activity to achieve the goals. Both Abbott and Gieryn underline the significance of a social and cultural operational environment for the profession.

The study questions are the following: 1. Through what kind of professional boundary determination processes is the jurisdiction of parish diaconal workers defined, and how do different actors justify the boundaries? 2. In what kind of social and cultural operational environment is the jurisdiction of the parish diaconal workers operating environment determined? The material of the study consists of (1) material covering the formation of professional parish diaconia and (2) national policy documents handling diaconate.

The central basic stance in the analysis of the material is reading the material systematically, guided by the concepts of Abbott and Gieryn, rhetorical mode of reading as a methodical tool. The analysis focuses on the factual content of the arguments, that is, statements and justifications of the cultural and social jurisdiction of diaconal workers.

The results of the thesis show how the church as an operational environment has affected the determination of the social and cultural jurisdiction of parish diaconal workers. The material handling the formation of professional parish diaconia 12 illustrated how parish diaconia has been affected by the role of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the creation of welfare services at different times. The church has enabled the survival of professional parish diaconia during various transitional periods, although diaconal workers have lost some of their jurisdictions when municipalities expanded their jurisdiction during the era of building the welfare state. An analysis of the political material handling the diaconate reveals how the church as an institution has also delimited the operation of parish diaconal workers at church by limiting their rights to make decisions. The subordinate status is not only linked to the division of work between men and women, but also to cultural understanding of the nature of ecclesiastic tasks. The analysis shows how the attempt to improve the status of parish diaconal workers was done by strengthening the spiritual nature of professional parish diaconia. At the level of the system of professions, the boundaries of the diaconal workers jurisdiction have been negotiated and struggled over, above all, with the professions of public social and healthcare professions, and the profession of a clergyman. There are plans in the diaconate process to expand the jurisdiction of diaconal workers to tasks related to service and ceremonies at the church, which traditionally and according to legislation have belonged to clergymen. This can be interpreted to be a cultural change process of the work of diaconal workers, where instead of the operational culture emphasising service, the justification for the work is more than before being sought from the doctrine structure of the church. The diaconate dispute is about the consequences of the redefinition of the cultural jurisdiction of diaconal workers to its social jurisdiction, meaning the division of work. Negotiations are carried out about several different topics at the same time. The actors will choose their argumentation based on what is being negotiated, what against and what for.