In 1682, Charles XI of Sweden issued a royal decree concerning the Finnish-speaking population in the provinces of Gästrikland and Hälsingland. According to the decree, the Finnish-speaking population had failed to learn Swedish. Thus, their knowledge of the Catechism had suffered. The solution was that only Swedish was to be used in popular education. Does the decree reflect how popular education was organised? Which strategies were used in popular education to address the lack of adequate knowledge? Traces in the historical records tell us that Finnish was used in popular education despite efforts to favour Swedish. By focusing on Färila, Alfta, and Järvsö parish in Hälsingland c. 1680–1730, this paper studies which strategies were used when teaching Finnish-speaking parish members, who were behind them and how they were implemented.