Tiilikka, Ville and Tähtinen, Maiju Homosexual workers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland: work life experiences. 74p., 1 appendix. Language: Finnish. Kauniainen, Autumn 2011. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree Programme in Social Services, Option in Christian Youth Work. Degree: Bachelor of Social Services. The objective of this study was to discover how church employees identifying themselves as homosexuals experienced their status in their work environment. We wanted to find out how the work community responded to homosexual employees and their identity in a heteronormative environment. Additionally, what kind of attitudes and feedback employees faced, their openness with their true identity and to what extent they could reveal it. This research was done by using a qualitative method containing thematic interviews. The interviewees were 5 employees (three men, two women) with different occupations (priests, youth workers and church musicians) from different locations in Finland. Results showed that experiences of the interviewed homosexual employees contained some similarities. For example, none of the interviewees felt their sexual orientation to be in contradiction to their personal faith. Also, all the interviewees found it important to have a reliable co-worker with whom they could discuss their everyday life. Nevertheless, the experienced difficulties varied depending on numerous reasons. However, a common concern was the parish members’ attitudes towards their sexual identity. All the interviewees found their work situation tolerable, however, not ideal. Although the relationship of the church and homosexuality has developed in a short period of time, there is still room for more development. Keywords: homosexuality, work community, work environment, Evangelical Lutheran Church, heteronormativity.