Today I'm bringing new life to this thread. Reason being is that today is the day of the election of the church assembly. Wouldn't you believe the church would be a place out of politics? Not in Sweden.
There is a fork in the road, two paths to choose from. If you listen well you hear that this election is between the Social Democratic party, and the Swedish Democrats. I'm gonna give a short summary of their programs. But first, please read the following article from the state sponsored propaganda channel: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6778122
Fist lets unpack the program from the Swedish Democrats:
In short: Let the church be the church, let it be a place apart from party politics. Let the church be a place for Christians.
http://kyrkoval.sd.se
And now, on to the Social Democrats:
http://sisvenskakyrkan.se/kyrkopolitiskt-program/
To get their concrete ideas you have to read extremely carefully. It's written in a way a post-modern politician would speak. Here I present a short condensed version:
1. Continue on the current path. The social democrats have big plans for the church and wants to use it in the society that the social democrats wants to build.
2. An open and welcoming ”peoples-church”. A church should be a place for everyone, no matter what you believe in. The Swedish church should offer services rich in variety. An open church should stimulate and defend the ”intercourse” between beliefs – the ecumenical work that lets the Swedish church find it’s own path. (I couldn't find a proper translation of this paragraph).
All activity should have an including perspective – We want the church to be open to everyone no matter their beliefs, everyone should feel welcomed and important.
3. The church should stand up for the equal value and rights of all people, everyones right to ethnicity, sexual and religious identity. In times where populism and extremism is in the rise in our society, it is important with a church that does not pit people against each other. The church must fight against islamophobia and antisemitism and in this fight the church should be a raw model.
Alright, this is half of their program condensed. The rest continues in the same pattern with HBTQ, anti-racism, let the immigrants in, how the church should only use electricity that is environmentally labeled, and of course fair trade products. There is one more thing from their program I would like to cast some light on, and I believe it is relevant to this thread:
The church should be relevant in tradition and renewal. Traditions must be combined with renewal in order to be preserved and to be relevant.
Gott mit uns