Nu är kyrkans officiella roll borta : En intervjustudie om fyra prästers syn på Svenska kyrkans förändring i det sekulariserade Sverige

In this essay I will examine the views of the Church of Sweden on the secularization taking place in Swedish society. The Church of Sweden was disestablished in 2000. This was an important part of the secularization process that has occurred in the country. The purpose of this paper is to examine various views of four priests regarding the church's declining influence in the community, and look at how the church's norms have slowly loosened up, taking as an example members of the Church of Sweden as nonbelievers. Through this essay I will define secularization theory, look at the various changes that have occurred in parish activities, and interview four priests from various parishes in Växjö diocese. The results showed that the priests had a positive attitude towards the separation between church and state, even though it means that membership statistics have fallen. With secularization, privatization has increased, but the ritual customs of the society are still used in the public arena. The four priests’ views on this is that there must still be some religious interest when making an active choice to marry or baptize their children in the church activities, for example. Yet the Christian basis of society has not been erased, the religious traditions are now seen more as traditions. Secularization influence on the number of active members is different in parishes across the country, and then it specifically worship services. The downward tendency in membership statistics of the Church of Sweden means that many churches will be closed shortly. The only thing that the church now performs on behalf of the state are funeral services