Religion in the Nordic Countries: Between Private and Public

ABSTRACT

A new visibility of religion in public life can be observed in the Nordic countries. This visibility is not due to a popular claim for a return of religion in the public sphere. As research conducted at Uppsala University in Sweden indicates, the visibility of religion in the Nordic countries reflects several concurring factors: the state’s continued relationship with churches and other religions; the growth of new forms of social exclusion drawing religion into public discussions on ethical and social issues; growing religious pluralism prompting political and legal regulation; a spirituality relating to existential issues and issues related to quality of life. The results raise important questions about Nordic modernity. They suggest that religion becomes public in several ways and emerges as an arena that connects the private and the public beyond conventional distinctions.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank Professor Emeritus Grace Davie for constructive discussions about this text and Dr Lina Molokotos-Liederman for language corrections. The article is part of the programme Impact of Religion: Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Notes

1. A welfare regime is regarded as an ideal type and is not related to individual countries. According to Gøsta Esping-Andersen, a ‘regime’ refers to the way in which welfare production is allocated between state, market, and household in a variety of European countries. For a summary of the critique of the typology, see Eva Jeppsson-Grassman (28).

2. The studies used qualitative methods and focused on the social and religious values in 13 local towns in the 12 countries (quantitative data were already available through the World Values Survey (WVS, www.worldvaluessurvey.org/) and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP, www.issp.org/). Representatives of local authorities, majority churches, minority religions, and the population were interviewed in Gävle in Sweden, Drammen in Norway, Lahti in Finland, Ogre in Latvia, Darlington in England, Reutlingen and Schweinfurt in Germany, Evreux in France, Przemysl in Poland, Sisak in Croatia, Padua in Italy, Medgidia in Romania, and Thiva (and Livadeia) in Greece. In total, 800 individuals were interviewed. For more information on the research methodology and data on the selected towns, see Anders Bäckström et al. (Welfare and Religion Vol. 1) and Bäckström (Welfare and Values Vol. 1).

3. The NOREL-project is based at the Norwegian Church Research Centre in Oslo, whose Director is Inger Furseth (see www.kifo.no/index.cfm?id=266100). For details of The Impact of Religion programme, see www.crs.uu.se.

4. Norway’s church–state reform of 2012 has some similarities with the reform of 2000 in Sweden. It gave the Church of Norway the freedom to appoint bishops and clergy, but the state has maintained its financial responsibility of the Church (see http://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Saker/Sak/?p=41052, access date: 1 November 2012).

5. Civil society is defined as a space that is separate from the state, the market, and the household, where individuals, groups, and organisations act together for a common purpose. Civil society comprises voluntary organisations, foundations, and religious faith communities, but also networks, campaign groups, and other agents (Law on Civil Society in Sweden of 2009, author’s translation).

6. This indicates the need for religious organisations to prove their democratic nature before receiving subsidies. This issue will be dealt with in next section.

7. The Swedish law on Civil Society (see http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/12163/a/136226, access date: 25 November 2012) replaces previous policies on popular or folk associations. A new agreement was signed in 2008 between the state and non-governmental organisations (see http://www.overenskommelsen.se, access date:). See also The British Commission for the Compact 2009 (The Compact on Relations between Government and the Third Sector in England, 2009. Available at: www.thecompactvoice.org.uk, access date: 20 November 2013). Innovasjon i Omsorg 2011: 11 is an official state Commission (http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/hod/dok/nouer/2011/nou-2011-11.html?id=646812, access date: 30 March 2012.

8. The term ‘free’ is used to illustrate alternative welfare options which are not provided by the state.

9. An overview published in the official newspaper (Dagens Samhälle) produced by SKL (the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, see www.skl.se/english, access date: 1 November 2012) shows that 36 articles were written on the subject in 2012 (see Dagens Samhälle, 1 November 2012). A current investigation of the attitudes of the Swedish people shows that only 10% approve of religious schools, while 60% welcome homes for the elderly which are managed by the Church of Sweden (Hollmer and Bäckström).

10. This attitude is echoed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and the former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy when they say that the multi-cultural model has failed (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/17/angela-merkel-germany-multiculturalism-failures.html, access date: 17 October 2010; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/davidcameron/8305346/Muslims-must-embrace-our-British-values-David-Cameron-says.html, access date 4 August 2011; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8317497/Nicolas-Sarkozy-declares-multiculturalism-had-faild.html, access date: 4 August 2011).

11. ‘Roundabout dog’ refers to the street phenomenon that started in Sweden in 2006 when dog sculptures made of wood, plastic or metal were anonymously placed on traffic roundabouts.

12. Lars Vilks also took part in the controversial SION (Stop Islamisation of Nations) conference in New York on 9 September 2012, which was televised in Sweden on 6 October 2012, causing further disturbance. Lars Vilks considers his contribution to the conference a form of art (www.svt.se/ug, access date: 1 November 2012).

13. The Muhammad Cartoons appeared in the newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005. The then Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that “the freedom of expression has a broad scope and the Danish government has no means of influencing the press” (see www.google/Jyllands-Posten, Muhammad Cartoons Controversy, access date: 4 August 2012).

14. The drawing was published in the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda on 18 August 2007. The governments of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Jordan expressed official protest and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), representing 57 Muslim countries, issued a statement on 30 August 2007 which strongly condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures of Muhammad. The Prime Minister of Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt explained on 7 September 2007 that Sweden was an open and tolerant country (see www.google/Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings Controversy, access date: 4 August 2012).

15. The law SFS (2001: 499) allows only persons certified by the National Board of Health to circumcise infants. The Swedish Medical Association for Children stated in February 2012 that ritual circumcision should be outlawed (see www.google/Circumcision, access date: 1 March 2012).

16. The Centre of Culture and Health at Gothenburg University in Sweden studies broader definitions of health in the Nordic cultural environment (see www.ckh.gu.se, access date: 20 November 2012). The WREP and WaVE project included an investigation of the attitudes of the population of Gävle. One question was: “When you think of welfare and quality of life in relation to yourself and your closest relatives, how important are the following statements?” Choosing from a list of possible answers, 88% of respondents considered both health and family life to be very important and 81% considered “My freedom to choose” to be very important.

17. On palliative care, see http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/riktlinjer/nationellariktlinjer/palliativvard, access date: 1 December 2012. On transcultural psychiatry studies, see Valerie DeMarinis, Önver Cetrez, and http://www.akademiska.se/Templates/Sogeti/Pages/Page.aspx?id=1490&epslanguage=sv, access date: 1 December 2012. For details about the Swedish Schools Inspectorate, see www.skolinspektionen.se/sv/anmälningar and www.skolvarden.se/artiklar/yoga-ar-inte-religion.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anders Bäckström

Anders Bäckström is Professor Emeritus in Sociology of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden, and Senior Advisor of the Research Programme The Impact of Religion: Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy (www.impactofreligion.uu.se). In 2007, he founded the Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre. He has directed numerous research projects, including church–state relations in the Nordic countries, welfare and religion in a European perspective, and the European Commission 6th Framework project on welfare and values in Europe.