Church and State in Sweden

The Revd Dr Ragnar Persenius, Secretary for the Church, Sweden

The Nordic countries have a similar history and development since the 16th century reformation. The principle of cuius regie, eius religio, one ruler, one religion, was established in these countries. In principle there was a unity between king, society and church. The religion was regarded as a unifying bond for the new national state. Although there were some exceptions, all citizens were expected not only to be members of the church but also to be believers and communicants. The Nordic state was by definition a Christian state. The development during the last centuries has changed this picture. Denmark and Norway have shared a common history, Sweden and Finland also. The present day differences between the Nordic Lutheran Folk Churches mainly are dependent on how far the revival movements have been integrated into the National churches, the legal development within the countries, and the changing religious scene. Sweden is no longer by definition a Christian state, although the reluctance of the present Government to abolish the constitutional demands on the King to confess the pure evangelical Lutheran faith may speak a different language than the Constitution Act. In any way, whereas the status of being an established church is concerned the situation in the Nordic countries differs greatly from that of the Church of England, which, as we understand it, in effect is of a more symbolic nature.

After more than four decades of intense debate the farreaching reform of the Church-State relationship in Sweden will come into effect by the year 2000. The preparatory work has been based on decisions taken in 1995 by the Church Synod and the Parliament regarding the guidelìnes for the reform. Since the reform aims at giving the Church of Sweden an independent status it includes changes in the Constitutional Act, adoption of new laws and a decision by the General Synod of the Church concerning a new Church Ordinance, replacing the present Church Code from 1992 and the previous from 1686.

I. Timetable

The reform is prepared according to the following timetable:

II. The Reform

The commissions appointed by the Government made their proposals after just more than one year of work in April 1997. The proposals have then been referred to a broad range of parishes, dioceses, church organizations, relìgious communities and other organizations for consideration. In November last year the Church Synod accepted the proposed changes in the Constitution Act and the proposed framework legislation for the churches and other religious communities. The Government now has put these proposals before Parliament. The legislation process in this case requires one decision before the September general election and an other afterwards. In August this year the Governmant will put before Church Synod and Parliament other proposals, the most important of these concern the burial system and the preservation of the ecclesiastical cultural heritage.

The main content of the reform is as follows.

Legislation

The aims of the reform from a legal point of view are

• to give constitutional provisions for religious communities ensuring solid and long-term conditions,
• to introduce a special legal entity for religious communities,
• to regulate the transition process so that Church of Sweden can be fully independent from the State in year 2000 without changing ecclesiological identity, and
• to regulate more in detail those areas where Church of Sweden still have public responsibilities.

Changes in the Constitution Act

A special legal entity, the Registered religious community, will be created to give all religious communities in Sweden a specific status of law. Provisions for this will be held in the Constitution Act. This means that all these communities are to be given the opportunity to exist according to their own selfunderstanding using the new legal status. It is especially positive that the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches no longer need to use the legal forms such as foundation or union, forms which were more suitable for the Free Churches.

Laws relating to the Church of Sweden and the religious communities will obtain protection from this Act. This means that there will be no other legal means for the State by which it can prescribe something to the religious communities. And the laws must receive a qualified majority in Parliament or be decided twice with a general election in between.

The Religious Communities Act

Provisions for the new legal entity will be held in a Religious Communities Act. Since this Act also will replace the 1951 Act on Religious Freedom, it is proposed to begin with four paragraphs which have the character of legislation on religious freedom. First there is a reference to the Constitution Act and the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Then the religious community is defined as a community for religious activity, which includes to hold worship. This definition even gives legal protection to the community which not yet has chosen a specific legal form. In the proposed third paragraph it is stated that there is no compulsion for anybody to belong to a religious community. In the fourth paragraph children from the age of twelve are given a veto when parents want to make changes in their membership in a religious community. When children grow older more and more consideration for their opinions and requests must be taken.

The following part of the proposed Religious Communities Act deals with the Registered religious community. It is stated that the Church of Sweden will be using the new legal form. This Church obtains this legal status by law. It is given by the separate Church of Sweden Act. Other religious communities obtain the status by a procedure of registration. All communities will have the opportunity to exist according to their own self understanding using the new legal status, even though it will be possible for them to use the present legal forms as foundation or union also in the fixture.

The registration of a religious community comprises name, constitution, how decisions are made and who are the authorized representative of the community. It is also possible to register recognized entities within the religious community. Financial support and other aspects of the relation between the State and the religious communities are proposed to be regulated separately.

The Church of Sweden Act

The proposed Church of Sweden Act is intended to provide the organization of the Church with a stable and long-term legal status after the reform. This act as well as the Religious Communities Act will enjoy special constitutional safeguards. The Church of Sweden will be granted an independent status as a legal person in its own right. The normative competence will not any longer be delegated from Parliament to the Church Synod. Parishes will continue as legal persons but without the status they have now as local authorities comparable to the secular. The dioceses will be legal persons in their own right.

The basic identity and organizational structure of the Church of Sweden are described in the fourteen provisions of the Church of Sweden Act. With the exception of a few regulations in different laws all other regulations - about six hundred - in the present Church Code must be transferred into the new Church Ordinance by the Church Synod.

The Act notes that Church of Sweden is an episcopally structured, open, democratic and country-wide Church. A description ofthe local, regional and national levels of the Church is given with regulations concerning the fundamental tasks of parishes, dioceses and the Church Synod. The proposed provisions are intended to maintain a decentralized organization with a far-reaching independence for parishes and dioceses.

The locally and regionally determined compulsory Church fee is regulated in the Act. The fee will be compulsory for those who belong to the Church of Sweden and will be levied according to financial means. In all practicality it will be treated as a tax.

In principle, all denominations using the new legal status as Registered religious communities also have the possibility to use the regular taxation system to collect their membership fees. In their case the Government decides.

There are some provisions included in the Church of Sweden Act concerning a part of the property, the accessibility of public and ecclesiastical documents, and the responsibility for archives. Finally, the State demands that Church of Sweden introduces some kind of ecclesiastical court system. All this is done in order to preserve the open character of the Church of Sweden, which is something that the Church Synod also has underlined the importance of.

Organization and financing of the Burial System

In spite of the fact that the reform aims at establishing the Church of Sweden as a from the State independent Church, the responsibility for both existing and future public burial-places is proposed to generally rest with the parishes of the Church of Sweden. When this is the case, the parishes probably also will have the duty of providing burialplaces for persons not belonging to a Christian denomination. But all denominations and local authorities will have the possibility to establish new, from the Church of Sweden independent, burial-places.

For the members ofthe Church the cost for burials will be included in the locally determined Church fee. Others will pay a corresponding separate fee for the burial system. The parish or secular authority responsible for the local burial system will receive the money on the basis of a statement of account. A nation-wide clearing system for the cost of burials has been proposed.

The status of Church property and archives

Legal provisions have to be made to guarantee that the property of the Church of Sweden, as hitherto, will be fully reserved for intended purposes. It is of vital importance that the status of a part of the property becomes clarified. The Church buildings with their rich cultural heritage are of a vital national interest. Although their legal status is clear and need no change, the State also in the future has a role to financially support and provide for the preservation ofthis heritage. How this is do be done, we do not know yet. But in some way all citizens have to contribute to the the costs.

The present public archives of the Church of Sweden should keep their public status. And the archives of the independent Church of Sweden should also be accessible for every citizen after the year 2000. This shows the importance the principle of public documents has for the Swedish society.

The transferring process

Many proposals are related to the process of transferring legal authority from the present parishes, dioceses and public authorities to the corresponding entities within the independent Church of Sweden. Personnel must be employed by the corresponding legal person. The Church Synod must have legal authority to make decisions in 1999 concerning the independent Church. The same is a necessity for parishes and dioceses. In the fall of 1999, among other things, they have to decide upon the size ofthe locally and regionally determined Church fee. There will be a continuity of representatives to Church synods and councils.. The September 1997 elections for parishes, diocesan and national synods were for a four year period. A separate Act for the transferring process will guarantee the continuity of the Church authorities. In the year 2001 the first elections of the independent Church of Sweden will be held.