Liturgi, konversioner och genus i den efterreformatoriska katolska kyrkan i Norden

The relation between worship and gender is a hot topic in the Catholic Church. In recent decades, the debate has mostly been about breaking with patriarchal and male dominated liturgical forms and traditions. Yet, in Catholic traditionalist Catholic liturgy, due to the reform after the Second Vatican council, is considered to have lost much of its former masculine character. In my article, I address this question through an analysis of the role of the liturgy in the Catholic conversion movement that began in Scandinavia as a result of the liberalization of religious laws in the mid-19th century. I examine the connection between gender and liturgy in conversion narratives and highlight changes over time. Up to Vatican II, the Catholic Church strongly emphasised its claim to be the only true church, and also Protestant regions as the Nordic countries were regarded as missionary areas. The Catholic priests and sisters working in this region were thus missionaries with the task to pursue mission and to win converts. Catholic worship had a distinctly sacral and ceremonial character, which attracted many non-Catholics and generated an interest in the Catholic faith. This was also the case in Scandinavia. In conversion narratives published during the first half of the 20th century, there are many examples of the encounter with the Catholic liturgy acting as an incentive for conversion, not least among male converts. With the liturgical reform of 1969, much of the cultural and aesthetic aura that had characterized the Catholic liturgy disappeared. A Swedish survey on reasons for conversion after the council shows that church doctrine and liturgy are given less importance. Instead, spiritual values such as experience of God and sanctification dominate, as well as the feeling of community in a concrete parish. This reflects the change in church teaching after Vatican II and also the new liturgical concepts launched with the liturgical reform.In the last twenty years, a new trend reversal has taken place in the Scandinavian conversion discourse. In the conversion narratives the firm doctrine of the Catholic Church is stressed, and the liturgy, most notably in its older form, is again highlighted as an important factor in the conversion process, especially among male converts. This can be seen as a consequence of the increased ritualization of the Mass celebration that appears in many places in the Catholic Church, and also as a reflection of a conservative trend within Catholicism. To this can be added, that the Roman church leadership has turned against efforts to create liturgical services for women and clearly marked the male character of Catholic priesthood