Church Of Sweden Research Articles

THE ALTAR PULPIT IN ESTONIAN CHURCH INTERIORS

The article focuses on a phenomenon that is related to architecture and art history in Estonia in the late 18th century – the pulpit-altar. In Estonia and Livonia, the construction of pulpit-altars was associated with the building of new stone churches. Although, due to the scarcity of sources, it is not possible to get a total overview of the spread of the pulpit-altars, the architectonic portico-style pulpit-altars are most prevalent in Livonia and primarily associated with the work of Carl Gottlieb and Christoph Haberland, two masters who were active in Riga. The portico-style pulpit-altars combined the functionality of the church plans designed by L. Chr. Sturm, a German educator and architect, and the aesthetics of “good architecture” promoted by architectural theoretician Marc-Antoine Laugier. In Estonia and Livonia, which had come under the rule of Tsarist Russia, Swedish church law remained in efect until 1832, although along with orthodox Lutheranism, Pietism, Herrnhutism and Rationalism were tolerated here. The goal of the Pietists, Herrnhutists and Rationalists was to improve the economic and social conditions in Estonia and, in one way or another, they were all enlighteners. Church construction may also have been infuenced by the educational background of the pastors, as well as the religious and aesthetic preferences of the church authorities. It is difcult to determine the dominance of one or another theological movement. The rural church buildings of the Age of Enlightenment were meeting rooms that were open to people of any social status or Lutheran sect. The pulpit-altars in the churches in Karksi, Rapina and Valga are cov- ered in the article.

Unity in Christ or Pan-Europeanism? Nathan Söderblom and the ecumenical peace movement in the interwar period

In the summer of 2014 the Swedish Church is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the appointment of Nathan Söderblom as archbishop of Uppsala, and thus head of the Swedish church organisation. As a Lutheran with an enormously broad-minded and broad-reaching approach to ecumenical understanding and community-building, Söderblom shot to prominence in the interwar period not only because of his ecumenical engagement, calling for an evangelical catholicity so stand side by side with the Roman catholic and Orthodox catholic traditions, but also because of his comprehensive secular engagement for peace and understanding between peoples. In the latter context he also acquired a solid reputation as a perhaps less prominent but still noteworthy figure in the history of European integration. This article investigates how, why and to what extent Söderblom’s ecumenical and secular engagements were intertwined. The first part discusses how his biographical and academic background led to such staunch ecumenical positions, while the second part focuses on the secular engagement, which was perceived by Söderblom as necessary to make progress on the ecumenical front in the practical political realities of the 1920s. The final part, comparing and contrasting Söderblom’s views with those of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Calergi and the Pan-European Union, demonstrates why Söderblom’s engagement for Europe had to be limited: unity in Christ is by definition global in nature and therefore cannot be continent-specific.

Postsecularism in Scandinavian Crime Fiction

In his 1989 novel Falne engler (Fallen Angels), the Norwegian author Gunnar Staalesen integrated an infrequent theological discussion as predominant element in crime fiction. Basically, the overall plot line is typical of Staalesen's socially sensitive style and narrates recognizable story about the investigation of number of murders in Bergen. Very early in the novel, even before the investigation takes off, an old friend of private detective Varg Veum asks him the conspicuous question: Hvordan har du det med Jesus (Staalesen 1989, 14) [How do you feel about Jesus?]. Even though Veum does not answer the question at this stage, the mysterious atmosphere of the subject clings to the investigation, and closer to the end of the story--as if he were to answer the question--Veum gets into lengthy discussion with local conservative pastor. At this point, Veum turns out to be critical, however culturally Christian, investigator with bent toward Franciscan diakonia. This may be the reason why it comes as no surprise that he, in the end, lets the murderer go, in what seems to be basic act of Christian mercy. Deeply embedded in the discussion, it is suggested by Staalesen that the conservative pastor is looking into conceivable future for renewed interest in spirituality in the wake of the new millennium. He predicts that, in the late eighties, we skimte en ny lengsel etter det uforklarlige ... fram mot artusinskiftet (Staalesen 1989, 245) [can glimpse new longing for the unexplained ... approaching the turn of the millennium]. In the wake of the increased attention toward religion and spirituality in post-millennial crime fiction, this assertion and assumption appear to be particularly prophetic. This article considers the postsecular turn in Scandinavian crime fiction. Postsecularism describes renewed openness toward questions of spirituality, while maintaining the practice of critical scrutiny. John A. McClure defines it as a mode of being and seeing that is at once critical of secular constructions of reality and of dogmatic religiosity (McClure 2007, ix). Since 2000, we have seen an intensive increase in the number of titles treating religion and/or spirituality in way that differs from the genre's usual approach. Firstly, I will frame the traditional attitude toward religion in crime fiction by Scandinavian welfare modernity, outlining the conspicuous absence of religion in the genre. Secondly, I propose typology of the treatment of religion in crime fiction. My examples are all taken from the vast corpus of contemporary Scandinavian crime fiction, but it would be rather unproblematic to stretch the scope of the theory to an analysis of western crime fiction in general. Within this typology, I will introduce the phenomenon of religious affirmative openness. Thirdly, I connect the concept of postsecularity with the idea of quiet reformation throughout Scandinavian cultures at the present time, thus supplying my genre analysis with cultural explanation. I conclude my article by drawing attention to the philosophical idea of self-constrained modernity and the theological theory of welfare theodicy as valuable discussions of why we see this spiritual interest in crime fiction. The publication of Staalesen's novel closed decade when only very few crime fiction titles had included considerations of religion or spiritual matters. In the eighties, Natanael Frid (pen name for the Swedish pastor Jan Arvid Hellstrom) continued his satirical portrayal of the theological debate about The Church of Sweden in his Pastorn och mordet pa arkebiskopen (1981; The Pastor and the Murder of the Archbishop) while, as Hellstrom, writing Ulven (1984; The Wolf) about mythology and superstition of the past, applied transitory supernatural explanation. The Swedish author Jan-Olof Ekholm entered the church debate with his novel Dodare kan ingen vara (1982; Nobody Could Be That Dead) with critique of the church's stance toward female pastors. …

In Dialogue with the Gospel

The aim of this article is to reflect on an approach and method for practical and prophetic ecclesiology. The article describes the process of planning and using a method at a conference for Church of Sweden suburban parishes. By returning to the conference and the planning process, the account presents the various steps of the broader approach, spells out ecclesiological considerations and analyses results of the conference. Gordon Lathrop’s concept, dialogue of holy things, is used to argue for the relevance of using a method based on Gospel narratives in empirical ecclesiology. The results from the conference show that the method could contribute to constructive and critical reflections on theological challenges facing Church of Sweden. The approach is discussed in relation to Theological Action Research and theories developed by Geir Afdal concerning studies of social practices.

Diaconia - Recent changes in the Church of Sweden

More than ten years ago important legal and formal changes took place in the Church of Sweden that made diaconia a necessary part of the congregations obligation. This article reports a research project that studies the changes that possibly could evolve from these changes.

Politische Inszenierung und Instrumentalisierung von Reformationsjubiläen im 20. Jahrhundert in Schweden

As far back as the Early Modern period, Swedish Reformation centenaries were exploited politically. Instead of Martin Luther, the liberation from Denmark (1521) and the Declaration of the Swedish Reformation (1593) were celebrated. From 1817 and 1830, Reformation centenaries were celebrated in a more continental form, but the Confessio Augustana-Celebration was combined with the clebration of Sweden's 'apostle' St.Ansgar. Because many of Luther's writings were not translated into Swedish until the 19th century, this became the century of reading Luther in Sweden. The Reformation centenary 1917 was celebrated throughout Sweden but simultaneously, a new Bible translation was introduced that departed significantly from the traidtions of the Luther Bible. Tow years later, Luther's Small Catechism was abandoned as the foundation of Religious Education in schools. The construction of a Swedish 'Special Path' for the interpretation of the Reformation continued into the 1920s and onwards. The most important commemoration of the Reformation was celebrated in German Lutzen, where a Gustav-Adolf-Chapel had been consecrated on November 6th, 1907. On November 6, 1942, in the heart of the Second World War, Archbishop Erling Eidem preached in the chapel, saying that the celebration should not be autonomous or arrogant, as if the people of Swedish, Nordic, or Germanic origin were superior to any other people or race in the world. Two days later, Dr. Eidem introduced the new Swedish rector in Berlin with a sermon on Romans 1:16 ('...to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.'). In Sweden, the celebrations were used to demonstrate the Swedish consensus on the Christian and the Swedish way (1941), which was understood in Swedish Reformation history as a middle course, 'to be interpreted' as the middle coruse between National Socialism and Communism (1943). Thus, Swedish Church history was exploited for both ecumenical and political purposes. it was not democracy, but religious and cultural unity that was being emphasized. A result of the 1993 Swedish Reformation Centenary was that the Church of Sweden portrayed itself as being on a particular ecumenical 'Special Path', as being Lutheran without Luther. In contrast to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, which has been able to combine ecumencial openness with conefessional lutheranism, the Church of Sweden has emphasized its uniqueness in such a way that could risk ecclesiastical isolation on an international level. Although lacking the old national rhetoric, the emphasis on the Swedish 'Special Path' has achieved the same result as the old antional glorification within both the peace initiatives as well as in ecumenical work. As an interpretation of the German Reformation, this pathway is highly questionable. (Less)

I Stay and I Follow: Clerical Reflections on Pastoral Care for Victims of Sexual Abuse

In this focus group study with clerics from the Church of Sweden, the Catholic Church, and the Free Church Movement, experiences of pastoral care for victims of sexual abuse were explored. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis. The participants expressed a wish to offer the best care possible. However, insecurity, a perceived lack of psychological competences, and restrictions imposed by the vow of silence provoked self-protective strategies that may affect both clerics and confidants.

In the service of God and the parish: Professional ideologies and managerial control in the Church of Sweden

Professional ideologies are not only shared norms, beliefs, and values but also ‘operational philosophies’ – actual practices – that both constitute and regulate a professional community. Professional ideologies may both accommodate and even embrace certain managerial practices and counteract them if they are regarded as a threat to professional jurisdictions and other privileges. A study of ministers of the Church of Sweden, the established church in Sweden, demonstrates that new demands for managerial control, deriving from shrinking financial resources as the church loses members, are, on the one hand, recognized in terms of providing a joint perspective on the activities of the parish while, on the other, there is a significant skepticism toward more elaborate evaluation methods and performance metrics. For ministers, religious services must not be regarded as being like any other market-based activity, and the church, as a faith-based organization, needs to carefully position itself vis-à-vis industry and public administration. The study contributes to the professionalism literature, the accounting literature, and the study of faith-based organizations.

Social work and faith-based agencies in Sweden and Australia

The roles which faith-based agencies play in social work provision vary between countries. This article provides an overview of social work provision by the Church of Sweden in Sweden and the Catholic Church in Australia and explores how different relationships between faith-based organizations and professional social work practice have emerged in different countries. The article concludes with questions about the role of faith-based agencies which readers can reflect upon in their own contexts.

Gender Equality as Institutional Work: The Case of the Church of Sweden

Institutional theory predicts that organizations respond to external changes in their environment to be able to safeguard their long‐term viability. One of the most significant institutional changes in the last century has been the entry of women into both labour markets and professions; however, an extensive literature reports that gender inequality and various forms of sexism still structure and influence the everyday work of organizations. Drawing on the recent literature on institutional work, the article reports on a study of how the Church of Sweden has managed to relatively successfully institutionalize female ministers as legitimate and widely respected members of the professional category of ministers ordained by the Church. Female ministers believe they are, by and large, respected in the Church, but suggest that gender remains an issue as women are at times expected to embody certain interests and have to answer some questions that their male colleagues may have been spared. The findings describe institutional work as an ongoing process with no fixed end‐point, stressing agency as the distributed and collective capacity to question established beliefs and norms.

Lars Levi Sunna: Crafting a Sámi Presence in the Swedish State Church

The article explores the intertwined religious and artistic viewpoints of contemporary Sámi artist Lars Levi Sunna of Kiruna, Sweden. Sunna self-consciously situates his artwork within a personal and familial history that centers around traditional Sámi livelihoods and the practice of handicraft (duodji). Through his duodji-inspired picto- rial art and art installations, Sunna chronicles a personal exploration that involved learning about his people’s pre-Christian religious traditions and consciously making a place for them within his life and work, while maintaining his identity as a Laestadian Christian. Keywords: Sámi, handicraft, duodji, Laestadianism, Lars Levi Sunna, shamanism

From state church to faith community: an analysis of worldly and spiritual power in the Church of Sweden

The aim of this article is to discuss the current legislation, and power structures in and between different levels of the Church of Sweden in terms of church–state relations and secularisation, with the help of theories from sociology of religion and ecclesiology drawn from José Casanova, Grace Davie and Avery Dulles. With themes from Lutheran theology, including the two regiments and the common priesthood of all believers, we analyse the current legislation and power structures from the perspective of the so-called ‘dual line of responsibility’. The underlying hypothesis is that the structures of the former state church are still deciding the power structures in the Church of Sweden. This creates obscurity concerning the role of the church in public society and negatively affects the ecclesiastical development of the church now that it has lost its earlier status as a state church.

The Image of Virgin Mary in Words and Art: Praising the Mother of God in Fifteenth-Century Sweden

During the fifteenth century, the cult of Virgin Mary was at its peak in Sweden, as well as all over the Western world. This article discusses the manifestation of the learned cult within Swedish popular culture in this period by analyzing contemporary prayers and art works from Swedish parish churches. The texts and the visual arts are discussed with reference to Speculum Virginum (5th chap.), an important didactic work that was translated from Latin to Old Swedish during the second half of the fifteenth century. It is clear that the arguments found in the popular cult of Virgin Mary are much simpler and more dogmatic, than in the learned cult. Nevertheless themes from the learned cult are frequently used in vernacular prayers and in the visual arts, especially as seen in the praise of Virgin Mary as intercessor. Probably this had something to do with St. Birgitta of Sweden and her revelations that made a strong impact on Swedish late medieval church life.

Caricatures of clergymen in nineteenth-century Sweden

This article investigates caricatures of clergymen in the nineteenth-century Church of Sweden. It offers the first attempt in Sweden to study these images as an enduring historical source. As case study, six caricatures of bishops from 1790–1870 will be analysed in terms of both their motifs and their significance. The bishops have been selected as the object of study because of their visibility as ex officio members of Parliament and leaders of the clergy. It is argued that graphic satire was used as a medium to criticise the bishops' influential position in the government and their defence of the Parliament of the Estates. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that as the techniques used to produce caricatures improved during the period, the images were more widely spread and had a greater impact on Swedish society. Finally, it is shown that caricature in Sweden reached a peak in the middle of the nineteenth century thanks to the extended debate on parliamentary reform and restrictions on press freedom.

This is What Most People Do: Participation and Normalcy in the Church of Sweden

The Christian Church, which—due to its message of God's grace towards all mankind—should be expected to lead the way in matters of humanity, seems to be stuck in a notion of normalcy; the kind of participation known by the church usually aims at a practice involving activities that require capacities not present among persons with severe disabilities. This study is about persons with intellectual disability and their experiences of participation in the Church of Sweden. The first section discusses the concept of participation. The second section is about participation and normalcy in the Church of Sweden and includes the stories of Eric, Unni, and David who all have an intellectual disability and want to belong to the People of the Faith.

ADDICTION IS A PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER - WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM HISTORY?

The author calls for the consideration the group of opioid-dependent women is a particularly vulnerable target population and that a cash incentive for sterilization to a substance-dependent woman should not be done in such a manner as it would be to other psychiatric patients. The author discusses the legislation of sterilization in Europe providing a historical overview using the case examples and their negative outcomes in Nazi Germany the Lutheran Church in Sweden and the Roma women in the Czech Republic. However the author recommends Austria to serve as an example of how an appropriate regulation is structured as it involves informed consent and special safeguards in order to protect mentally disabled people. Additional considerations include the stability of a mental condition during the contraceptive decision-making process a comprehensive care setting with a multi-profession team approach and the high rate of psychiatric co-morbidities.

A Glocal Knitwork: Sewing Circles in the Church of Sweden as a Global Women’s Network

The Swedish branch of the missionary movement and sewing circles in the Church of Sweden are two sides of the same coin. They started at about the same time, in the 1830s and in the 1840s, and they depended on, and still depend on, each other. Over the years, thousands of Church of Sweden sewing circles have had foreign mission as their purpose. The sewing circles’ money raising and knowledge were and are of great significance for Swedish foreign mission.

"A True Servant of the Lord" : Nils Collin, the Church of Sweden, and the American Revolution in Gloucester County

The following is the text of a talk, “Nils Collin, the Church of Sweden, and the American Revolution in Southern New Jersey,” presented during the conference “Piety, Politics and Public Houses: Churches, Taverns and Revolution in New Jersey,” (complementing the exhibition "Caught in the Crossfire: New Jersey Churches and Taverns in the American Revolution"), New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, March 8, 2003.

Bishops and Professionalization in Sweden, c. 1780–1880

This article investigates the concept of professionalization in terms of the bishops' role in the 19th-century Church of Sweden. Previous research has generally claimed that from the late 18th century until the mid-19th century, before the abolition of the Diet of Estates, the Swedish bishops amounted to secularized, conservative state officials who lacked the ability to effect religious reform. In this article, however, it will be argued that in the early 19th century, several decades earlier than previously assumed, the Swedish episcopate had begun to undergo a slow transformation that is best described as professionalization. It is posited that the bishops, inspired by Evangelical revival and Romanticism, became increasingly specialized in religion and theology in their education, thinking and practice. The episcopal profile also changed as the middle classes gained more influence from the early 19th century onwards, and this, in turn, prompted a higher standard of role performance.

Spiritual Care in the Last Phase of Life: A Comparison between the Church of Sweden and the Church of Finland

This article deals with the Church of Sweden and the Church of Finland and their spiritual support for parishioners during their end-of-life phase. Support for the dying seemed uncommon in both countries, while most parishes offered support for the bereaved. The Finnish respondents expressed more confidence in their spiritual role than did the Swedes. This may have to do with the role of the churches in their respective countries and the varying geographies of death.