Sunden's Role Theory and Glossolalia

Abstract

Since the end of the nineteen sixties, glossolalia has been my main area of research. This interest has not only been directed at the psychology of speaking in tongues, but also towards the history of this phenomenon in Finland, together with its linguistic and liturgical function. The results of my research have for the most part been published in articles and books in Swedish. There are also, however, a number of articles in English, listed among the references at the end of this essay. When I began to be interested in the psychological aspects of glossolalia at the beginning of the seventies, it was difficult to find literature in this field, not to mention adequate theories. The main contribution I discovered was Hjalmar Sunden's role theory, which he published as early as the late fifties. His own discussion of speaking in tongues in his major work, Religionen och rollerna [Religion and Roles] (1959), applies a method of approach based on system theory, which in turn is linked with role theory. Sunden makes a distinction here between a weakly developed religious structure and a fully developed religious structure. If the structure, i.e., the individually integrated group pattern, is weakly developed, there is a danger of popular hysteria and overacting. If, on the other hand, it is well developed, with its foundation in a given frame of tradition, it then produces, when confronted by collective suggestion mechanisms, a meaningful and integrative experience. The basis for this is the common role system which, with particular reference to speaking in tongues, may be found in the Bible, especially in the events of the first Pentecost. In my doctoral dissertation (Holm, 1976) I analyzed interviews and field material from the point of view of role theory, and in the following pages I should like to discuss this approach and also point out the areas where research must go further.