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Churches Online in Times of Corona

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Abstract

The digital initiatives in the parishes within the Church of Sweden were founded upon local initiatives from the parishes based on local needs and context. In keeping with the diaconal responsibility of making church a place for all, new ways to reach people were welcomed. Widespread internet connectivity and digital literacy, individual skills, and competence among Church staff, combined with a local ability to harbour and develop such initiatives, together with an open atmosphere within the larger Church, paved the way for the digital transformation of the first half of the year 2020. However, the results bring to the fore a question regarding the identity of the Church of Sweden (CoS). Is it a denomination with a solely inward focus towards the already active, or is it also a church reaching new people by preaching the gospel?

Zusammenfassung

Die digitalen Initiativen in den Kirchengemeinden innerhalb der Kirche von Schweden basierten auf lokalen Initiativen der Gemeinden, die wiederum auf den lokalen Bedürfnissen und dem lokalen Kontext basierten. Im Einklang mit der diakonischen Verantwortung, eine Kirche für alle zu sein, wurden neue Wege, Menschen zu erreichen, begrüßt. Eine weit verbreitete Internetkonnektivität und digitale Kompetenz, individuelle Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen unter den Kirchenmitarbeiter*innen, kombiniert mit einer lokalen Fähigkeit, solche Initiativen unterzubringen und zu entwickeln, sowie einer offenen Atmosphäre innerhalb der größeren Kirche, ebneten den Weg für die digitale Transformation in der ersten Hälfte des Jahres 2020. Die Ergebnisse werfen jedoch die Frage nach der Identität der Kirche von Schweden (CoS) auf. Ist sie eine Glaubensgemeinschaft, die sich ausschließlich nach innen auf die bereits Aktiven konzentriert, oder ist sie auch eine Kirche, die neue Menschen durch die Verkündigung des Evangeliums erreicht?

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Notes

  1. 1.

    OECD—Digital Government review of Sweden—towards a data-driven public sector.

  2. 2.

    The Swedish Internet Foundation 2019.

  3. 3.

    For a good overview of Sweden’s early response, cf. Ludvigsson 2020.

  4. 4.

    Public Health Agency of Sweden 2020a.

  5. 5.

    Norris and Inglehart 2011.

  6. 6.

    Church Ordinance, 5 § 2.

  7. 7.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 94 ff.

  8. 8.

    Stolow 2005.

  9. 9.

    Horsfield 2015; Mannerfelt 2021, 111–113.

  10. 10.

    Helland 2000.

  11. 11.

    Helland 2000.

  12. 12.

    For an overview of, and introduction to, the field of digital religion, cf. Campbell 2013; Cheong et al. 2012.

  13. 13.

    Fischer-Nielsen 2010.

  14. 14.

    Campbell 2020.

  15. 15.

    Campbell (2012); Cheong et al. (2012).

  16. 16.

    Fischer-Nielsen 2010.

  17. 17.

    Gelfgren forthcoming; Ekström et al. 2021.

  18. 18.

    Ekström et al. 2021.

  19. 19.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 34–35.

  20. 20.

    Fransson 2022; Fransson et al. 2021a, 34).

  21. 21.

    Willander and Stockmann (2020, 8–12).

  22. 22.

    Jonsson 2018, 30 f.

  23. 23.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 55–61.

  24. 24.

    Ibid., 45.

  25. 25.

    Ibid., 43.

  26. 26.

    Helland 2000; Fransson et al. 2021b.

  27. 27.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 46–47.

  28. 28.

    Ibid., 59–60.

  29. 29.

    Fransson et al. 2021b.

  30. 30.

    Folkekirkens Uddannelses- og Videnscenter 2020, 149 ff.

  31. 31.

    Peters et al. 2005; Arthur 1989. Fransson et al. 2021a, 59–60.

  32. 32.

    Campbell 2020.

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    For a further discussion regarding interactivity cf. Garpe and Ideström 2022.

  35. 35.

    Chow und Kurlberg 2020; Fransson et al. 2021a, 73.

  36. 36.

    Fransson et al. 2021b.

  37. 37.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 46–48.

  38. 38.

    Ibid., 56.

  39. 39.

    Ibid., 62.

  40. 40.

    Fransson 2022.

  41. 41.

    For a definition of «crisis» in relation to faith communities and the pandemic, cf. Lundgren and Fransson forthcoming.

  42. 42.

    Wijkström et al. 2021; Hellqvist and Sandberg 2017, 23–24, 107.

  43. 43.

    Hellqvist and Sandberg 2017, 23–24, 107.

  44. 44.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 56.

  45. 45.

    Fransson 2022.

  46. 46.

    Ibid.

  47. 47.

    Dinham 2009; Griera 2012; Hurd 2015; Lundgren 2021; SOU 2018, 18.

  48. 48.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 38–39.

  49. 49.

    Fransson 2022.

  50. 50.

    Josefsson and Wahlström 2022.

  51. 51.

    The four denominations besides CoS were the Uniting Church (UC—merger of the Swedish Mission Covenant Church, the Swedish Methodist Church and the Swedish Baptist Union), the Swedish Pentecostal Movement (PM), Interact (EFK), and the Swedish Mission Alliance (SAM).

  52. 52.

    Fransson 2022; SST 2022.

  53. 53.

    Ibid.

  54. 54.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 74; https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/ovantat-manga-kyrkobesok-under-pandemin.

  55. 55.

    Fransson 2022.

  56. 56.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 74.

  57. 57.

    Fransson 2022.

  58. 58.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 50. Garpe and Ideström 2022.

  59. 59.

    Furusand 2022.

  60. 60.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 72.

  61. 61.

    Biskopsbrevet 2021.

  62. 62.

    Fransson et al. 2021a, 36.

  63. 63.

    Fransson 2022.

  64. 64.

    Gelfgren 2015, forthcoming.

  65. 65.

    Garpe and Ideström 2022.

  66. 66.

    Fransson 2022.

  67. 67.

    Gelfgren forthcoming.

  68. 68.

    Church ordinance for the Church of Sweden, 2 § 1.

  69. 69.

    Ibid.

  70. 70.

    Externa kyrkbussen 2021.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KLIV Enheten för forskning och Analys, Uppsala, Schweden

    Sara Fransson

  2. Department of Histrical, Philosopical and Religious Studies, Umeå Univesity, Umeå, Schweden

    Stefan Gelfgren

  3. Department of Economic History, University Uppsala, Uppsala, Schweden

    Pernilla Jonsson

Authors
  1. Sara Fransson
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  2. Stefan Gelfgren
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  3. Pernilla Jonsson
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Correspondence to Sara Fransson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz

    Thomas Schlag

  2. Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Deutschland

    Ilona Nord

  3. Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland

    Wolfgang Beck

  4. Schweizerisches Pastoralsoziologisches Institut (SPI), St. Gallen, Schweiz

    Arnd Bünker

  5. Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland, Hannover, Deutschland

    Georg Lämmlin

  6. Universität Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz

    Sabrina Müller

  7. Universität Wien, Wien, Österreich

    Johann Pock

  8. Universität Wien, Wien, Österreich

    Martin Rothgangel

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Fransson, S., Gelfgren, S., Jonsson, P. (2023). Sweden. In: Schlag, T., et al. Churches Online in Times of Corona. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-41728-4_29

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