Rokotusvastaisuus historiallisena ilmiönä 1900-luvun alun Suomessa

Although criticism towards vaccination nowadays is on the rise, the history of anti-vaccinationism has remained a very little studied historical phenomenon especially in Finland. Compared with Central Europe, anti-vaccination attitudes started to appear in Finland rather late, not until the early 20th century. The main supporters of the cause were found among the advocates of natural healing and vegetarianism, who form the subject of this research. The aim of this article is to analyse, why these people opposed vaccination and how the ideas of natural healing and vegetarianism shaped their anti-vaccination attitudes. The research material consists of anti-vaccination writings published by the advocates of natural healing and vegetarianism, during the years 1910–1932, in their own magazines called Health and Natural Healer/Healer/New Healer. This historical research is based on a qualitative method that is used to find and analyse the reasons why the advocates of natural healing and vegetarianism opposed vaccination. An explanation for these anti-vaccination attitudes is sought from the world view of natural healing and vegetarianism of the early 20th century by placing the phenomenon under study in the context of the research era. This research shows that the Finnish advocates of natural healing and vegetarianism opposed vaccination because they thought it was unhealthy, useless and immoral. These ideas were influenced by the alternative disease conception of natural healing that dissented from the medical knowledge of the time. The intertwining of health and morals, but also the aspiration for social change, characteristic of both natural healing and vegetarianism, played a significant role as well.