Long and short term values: The different function of long-term church relationships and one- off experiences

Main line churches are characterised by a life-long relationship with the church and a strong acceptance of the rites of passage (baptism and funerals). What happens – what logic comes into play – when people belong to this kind of church, but at the same time accept a variety of religious products from other providers? In a qualitative study of members of the Church of Sweden, two different sets of values emerged with respect to the life-long relationship on the one hand and occasional religious experiences on the other. Church belonging and participation in the rites of passage were motivated by long term collective values, while participation in worship and other one-off activities reflected rather more short term and individual values. This paper considers these differences from a theoretical perspective in order to understand increasing levels of religious choice alongside continuing acceptance of and adherence to the collective rites of passage. Introduction: Majority religion in Sweden The formal relationships between the state and the Church of Sweden have been continuously changing since the middle of the nineteenth century, from a situation of complete unity towards a separation of the church from the state, which was to a large extent completed on 1 January 2000. Relationships to the church have, even on an individual level changed through the increased privatisation of religion, a more commercial and market orientated attitude and a continuing decline in people’s participation in the activities of the church. Relationships between society and church and individual and church respectively, have been broken up in a series of areas, while they remain and are further developed in some particular fields. Nearly all Swedes have a, usually lifelong, relationship to the Church of Sweden and make use of the church’s services at certain points during their lives, mainly in connection with baptism and burial. Statistic figures for 2003 shows that: 80 % of the Swedish population belong to the Church of Sweden, 86 % of all funerals take place within the Church of Sweden, 68 % of all Swedish infants are baptised in the Church of Sweden, 38 % of all 15 year old youth are confirmed in the Church of Sweden, 55 % of all marriages take place in the Church of Sweden (Church of Sweden 2003). Church of Sweden statistics show that only 1,3 % take part in Sunday service an ordinary Sunday. According to surveys 10 % of the population attend at least one Christian service per month (Gustafsson 1995). Most people are occasional users of the services of the church in view of their life perspective, but many are continuous users of the services of the church during a shorter or longer period of their lifetime. When linking together all different sorts of contacts with the Church that an individual has during lifetime, it comes to several occasions for most Swedish people (figure 1). For some only children’s baptisms and relatives burials, for others added with for example a period in a church choir or a period when their children participate in church activities.