Church of Sweden

The Church of Sweden is the primary Christian church in the country of Sweden and follows the Evangelical Lutheran branch of Christianity. In the mid-2020s, around 52 percent of Sweden's population belonged to the Church of Sweden, based on official church data. The membership in the Church of Sweden has steadily declined since the end of the twentieth century. The Church of Sweden is regarded as one of the most liberal religious organizations in Christianity.

History

Vikings traveling east through what became modern Sweden initially introduced Christianity to the region. The Vikings encountered the Christian religion during their conquest of England. The arrival of French Benedictine monk Ansgar in the ninth century CE marked the first time someone preached the gospel to Sweden. Christianity struggled to take root in the country, which was divided into provinces at the time. A chieftain, or independent king, led each province. Olof Skötkonung, king of the Götar and Svear provinces, became the first Swedish leader to be baptized. Skötkonung's baptism helped propagate Sweden's Christianization, and the country slowly transitioned from its Norse traditions to those of the Christian church.

In 1164, the Christian church designated the Swedish city of Uppsala its archdiocese, a major milestone for Christianity in the country. King Eric X of Sweden was the first Christian king to be crowned by a bishop in 1210. This event united church and state, making Christianity an integral and influential aspect of Swedish affairs. For many centuries, the church followed Catholic doctrine and canonized saints, including the country's most famous saint, Bridget of Sweden.

Sweden experienced religious unrest in the early sixteenth century following its union with Denmark and Norway under King Christian II. Christian II spurred a Swedish rebellion after calling for the execution of several prominent figures in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1520. This prompted a national liberation movement aimed at separating Sweden from its union with Denmark and Norway as well as from the Catholic pope. After Gustav Vasa seized power in 1523 and became king of Sweden, he created a national Swedish church influenced by the teachings of Martin Luther. The Bible was translated into Swedish in 1541, and in 1544, Vasa proclaimed Sweden an evangelical kingdom. Over the next few decades, Sweden's church aligned itself with Protestant Reformation ideals. The church's reformation period ended when it adopted the Augsburg Confession, the principal confession of faith of the Lutheran church, at the Convocation of Uppsala in 1593.

Acting as an Evangelical Lutheran establishment at the time, the Church of Sweden became intricately linked to the Swedish monarchy, which required all Swedes to follow the church's faith. Up until the 1800s, Swedish authority forbade the practice of other religions in the country. Greater freedom of religion did not occur until the early nineteenth century, and full religious freedom was eventually granted to the Swedes in 1951. The monarch was still required to belong to the Church of Sweden, however, and it remained the official state church until 2000.

Beliefs

The Church of Sweden's teachings place great emphasis on ecumenism, or cooperation among Christian churches. The church follows the Evangelical Lutheran tradition of justification by faith and professes several creeds, or shared religious statements, including the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The congregation also prepares the Eucharist, or bread and wine, symbolizing the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which is consumed during worship services. The Eucharist is administered during the service called communion. Other rites practiced by the Church of Sweden include baptism, confirmation, marriage, and funeral rites; abbreviated, drop-in marriage and baptism services began to be offered around 2009. Worship services normally take place on Sunday, but as church beliefs became more liberal in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, services could also be celebrated on certain weekdays.

According to the Evangelical Lutheran interpretation of the Bible, God's message is about total faith and forgiveness. Evangelical Lutherans emphasize the messages of Jesus Christ and the doctrine declaring justification by faith. The teachings also state that the scripture of the Bible has final authority on all matters of faith. The Bible teaches that all humans must atone for the sins of their ancestors. In the Church of Sweden's Evangelical Lutheran teachings, God gives humans grace through scripture, baptism, and the Eucharist. Through God's grace, humans reach salvation and are delivered from sin into heaven.

Controversially, the Church of Sweden urged the use of gender-neutral language for God, rather than traditional masculine terms such as "Lord" and "he," beginning in 2017. The move came as part of an effort to make its updated Book of Worship more inclusive.

Organization

Around 52 percent of Sweden's population belongs to the Church of Sweden, which has 3,500 churches and thirteen dioceses across the country. A bishop, who is in charge of ordaining priests, presides over each diocese. Priests and lay delegates choose bishops. The diocese is divided into parishes, which consist of clergy and the congregation. The Church of Sweden has approximately 2,225 parishes, which have a parish council and a priest. The priest carries out the church's liturgy, or rites for worship, and maintains all educational and social efforts within the parish. The Church of Sweden allows people of diverse genders and sexual orientations to be ordained as priests and consecrated the first openly lesbian bishop in 2009 when it appointed Eva Brunne as bishop of Stockholm.

The decision-making body of the Church of Sweden is known as the church assembly, which has 251 members who decide on matters related to the church's organization. Baptized church members sixteen years and older elect members to the assembly every four years. Nationally, the archbishop of Uppsala, who acts as the church's representative, leads the church. The Church of Sweden is affiliated with several churches around the world as part of a global fellowship. The church also is active in the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the Conference of European Churches, and the Christian Council of Sweden.

Bibliography

Braw, Elisabeth. "In a Rush and Need a Wedding? Visit the Church of Sweden." The Christian Science Monitor, 20 June 2016, www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2016/0619/In-a-rush-and-need-a-wedding-Visit-the-Church-of-Sweden. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Exploring a Heritage: Evangelical Lutheran Churches in the North. Eds. Anne-Louise Eriksson, Göran Gunner, and Niclas Blåder. Pickwick Publications, 2012.

Frymorgen, Tomasz. "The Church of Sweden Is Giving God an Update." BBC, 29 Nov. 2017, www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/7417e84a-826e-4320-9eb7-8901d9a0ff3d. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

“Religion in Sweden.” Sweden, 12 June 2024, sweden.se/life/society/religion-in-sweden. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Ring, Trudy. "Sweden Gets Lesbian Bishop." Advocate, 9 Nov. 2009, www.advocate.com/news/daily-news/2009/11/09/sweden-gets-lesbian-bishop. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

"Welcome to the Church of Sweden." Church of Sweden, www.svenskakyrkan.se/english. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.