A critical study of the democratic contribution of theology
What resources does the Christian tradition hold for constructive visions and sustainable practices for democracy? That is the overarching question that the project is addressing. It is also examining the conditions and opportunities for religious traditions to participate in the general political dialogue. This is taking place through a discussion with theorists advocating different models of democracy. Deliberative democracy is an area of especial focus.
The question regarding the conditions for religious traditions to participate in the public sphere is also being posed to a number of theologians active in politics and theology. It is hoped that the results of the study can deliver answers to questions regarding the forms that the Church’s political engagement should take, and what the Church’s political role can be in a pluralistic society.
Jenny Ehnberg
Ester Lutteman
Today Ester Lutteman (1888–1976) is largely forgotten, but in her time she was a well-known and highly public figure, as a theologian, educator, peace activist and opinion leader on a wide range of issues. My research aims to describe her long career and place her in a wider theological and feminist context. One important theme is Lutteman’s personal vocation to become a minister in the Church of Sweden, a vocation that she was never able to fulfil. Another revolves around her importance to the 20th century network of theologically active women. A third discussion concerns her place in the Church of Sweden, where she was both respected and called into question. To many people – women in particular – Ester Lutteman came to symbolise an important, open and existential interpretation of Christianity. It could be said that she was a theologian of the people and of women.
Maria Södling
Memories of mission. Memories and stories of Swedish missionaries from their time as missionaries in Zimbabwe, posted by the Church of Sweden
The research project aims to analyse stories and memories of Swedish missionaries from their time working in Zimbabwe, posted by the Church of Sweden. With these stories and memories as a starting point, the study aims to add to existing knowledge about the Church of Sweden’s role as an actor in a colonial and post-colonial context.
Kristina Helgesson Kjellin
Confirmation, faith and socialisation – a comparative study of confirmation candidates in Europe
The project aims to investigate changes in the work on confirmation in the parishes and the expectations and experiences of the confirmation candidates during their confirmation period. The study is being conducted simultaneously in nine Lutheran churches around Europe, following on from earlier studies conducted in 2008 and 2013.
Sara Fransson
Changing church spaces
This project is a collaborative venture involving researchers at Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. The project is examining church spaces and ritual sites from different perspectives. For example, it poses questions about how the use of religious spaces and sacred objects changes when they are defined as cultural heritage; about the tension between tradition and change; and about the use of nature as a site for religious rituals, from both a historical and a contemporaneous perspective. The project will be presented in various contexts, at conferences and in book form, and is in progress from 2023 to 2025.
Carola Nordbäck
Church membership in the 21st century
As the Church of Sweden’s membership has declined in number, the composition of membership has also changed. Having essentially represented a cross-section of society, it has crystallised into a more segmented sub-division of the population. The overall aim of the project is to analyse how the membership of the Church is changing in relation to Sweden’s population as a whole, in terms of demographic, socio-economic and ethnic structure and geographical diversity.
Jonas Bromander
Professionalisation and idealism – social capital in the Church of Sweden
This project aims to investigate what impact the increasing professionalisation of civil society is having on social capital, using the Church of Sweden as a case study. Work on idealism in the Church of Sweden may be seen from the viewpoints of competing logics, where both organisational and theological arguments are attributable to attitudes in the parishes and work with volunteers.
This project analyses how relationships are created, maintained and changed between employees, elected representatives and volunteers in the parish, but also with potential volunteers in the local community based on the theoretical concepts of bridging and bonding. The theoretical and methodological approach of the project is based on social network theory, which makes it possible to examine differences in parish structures and ways of working in different parishes when it comes to idealism.
Sara Fransson
Use of images by the Church of Sweden: On eco-theology and visual culture
This project focuses on contemporaneous use of images in the Church of Sweden. The Church’s visual culture and visual theology is an important area of research, and this project examines in particular the Church’s multimodal communication from the perspective of ecocritical-oriented research topics. The study therefore focuses above all on images and videos that are used to communicate the Church’s work on sustainability and that in various ways represent the Church’s view of nature.
Ever since the Middle Ages, church spaces have been a place for multimodal communication, where images have been given great prominence. The historical importance and function of church art is well documented in art and cultural history research. However, developments in the 21st century, where the Church is no longer an established church and now operates as an independent actor in a wider digital media landscape, have not yet been explored in detail. The Church of Sweden’s communication is described as a form of mission, while it also aims to spread awareness of and consolidate the Church’s brand. Which visual messages and narratives does this communicate, and how are they to be interpreted from a theological perspective? The project is in progress from 2024 to 2026.
Carola Nordbäck
Responsibilities of faith communities in times of crisis and disaster
The project aims to examine, from different viewpoints, the responsibilities and behaviour of both majority and minority communities in local or national disasters. Policymakers have long recognised the important role of the local community in times of crisis or disaster. This is based on dialogue and compassion for fellow human beings, but also on expectations, for example as regards maintaining premises and getting public service information out to the members of the population who are otherwise beyond the reach of national, regional and local authorities.
Sara Fransson