Från ämbetsman till ämbetsbärare : förändringar speglade i anmälningar mot präster under tre brytningstider

In this dissertation the work environment and the roles and identities of the clergy in the Church of Sweden are investigated. It is said in the first chapter that there are several factors influencing the work environment and that these factors are important for the formation of the roles and identities of the clergy. The surrounding society, the organization, and the expectations directed at the clergy are such factors dealt with in this work. The material consists of com¬plaints towards the clergy in three dioceses in the Church of Sweden during three time-periods, the first one from 1936-1940, the second one from 1961-1965 and the third one from 1986-1990. The principal theoretical framework has been symbolic interactionism. In chapter two the organization of the Church of Sweden is described as an open system in interaction with the surrounding society. In chapter three the material is presented. The roles and identities of the clergy expressed in expectations directed towards them in three dioceses during three time periods are treated in chapter four. The view on roles and identities within symbolic interactionism is essential in this chapter. As the work took its course it became interesting to investigate the conflicts between the clergy and elected representatives more closely. Both parties have a special position within the Church of Sweden through the shared responsibility they have within what came to be known as the ‘two-folded responsibility’. This is investigated in chapter five, where texts from three conflicts between the clergy and elected representatives – one from each period – are dealt with. Critical discourse analysis is used in this chapter. The work concerns three different levels, a macro-, a meso-, and a mikro-level. In studying these levels the surrounding society has been equally important. The society and changes in the society are basic when organizations develop. The context is also essential when people meet face-to-face, in how they interpret the situation. Two changes in society are especially important. The bonds between the church and the state in Sweden loosened and finally dissolved in the year 2000 mostly as a result of the structural differentiation. This had consequences for the organization of the Church of Sweden as well as for the tasks of the clergy. The other alteration is to a great extent due to migration, the movements of the population from rural areas to the bigger cities, and new ways to communicate. A uniform value system became a pluralistic value system with consequences for the relation between the church and the society but also within the church