My new church

[Kidlicious]

By title it's baptist, which I like because its means to me that they are grounded in Christ/bible. You can quote from any part of the bible and probably not get the stink eye.

They are active wth community works too, which is my favorite way to worship.

[Jon Miller]

I have visited a number of churches in Sweden, none are incredibly great (I think my favorite might have been one in Stockholm, but I have only been once because it is in Stockholm).

I am in a disadvantage because I don't speak Swedish, of course. However, it seems that there is not as much 'life' in many of the churches as I would like (as a young guy). Although I am happy to go to churches filled with old people too.

JM

[Kidlicious]

Sounds like Sweden needs some prayer.

[Jon Miller]

Religiosity in Sweden plays a limited role compared to the European average. In a 2009 Gallup poll, 17% answered yes to the question "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".[2] Less than 4% of the Church of Sweden membership attends public worship during an average week; about 2% are regular attendees.[3]

From the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s until 2000, the Lutheran Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan) was the state church. As of 2010, about 70% of Swedes are members of the Church of Sweden, compared to over 95% in 1970, and 83% in 2000.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[13]
23% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god".
53% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
23% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Sweden

My observation is that the idea of being religious is actually foreign to most Swedes.

A large portion of the Christians in Sweden don't believe in God, and in at least some cases this is what their pastors teach. The older people I know were taught some basics of the Bible in public school class when they were kids. But Sweden is very much a post-Christian society (one of the few in the world).

Despite only ~75% saying they believed in 'something', I see a lot of interest in horoscopes/etc/etc.

I think that for many, the idea of believing in God (even in the deistic sense) is looked at as 'uncultured'.

JM

[Kidlicious]

Wow! Do you know any young christians over there? I don't mean the kind that don't believe in God. What's that about?

[Al B. Sure!]

Sweden

[Combat Ingrid]

Most of the religious people in Sweden are either old ladies or immigrants from barbaric places.

[Jon Miller]

Wow! Do you know any young christians over there? I don't mean the kind that don't believe in God. What's that about?

Yes. There are a few, not sure if more or less than their parents generation (who are 50+). The 50+ people are the only ones which are in general religiously literate.

I talked to one of the students in my group once when we were hanging out in the evening during a conference. He thought that religion led the advanced point where belief in God was no longer necessary (just used in earlier eps'), and that Christianity was an advancement along this path (and that this is what one would learn from the correct interpretation of the Bible).

[Traianvs]

Sweden

Feels like pretty much the situation here. I meet very few young believers. Gives me a wonderful feeling of freedom

[Jon Miller]

Most of the religious people in Sweden are either old ladies or immigrants from barbaric places.

The churches I went to were not entirely dominated by old people (Actually had similar %s as the US).

And it did seem to be Swedes, not immigrants.

They were however mostly empty.

I have heard, however, that Catholics are doing better than Lutherans (% wise), and that this is because most Catholics are immigrants.

JM
(I have not been to a Catholic church in Sweden.)

(The liveliest church I went to was the livets ord church which is sort of similar to the pentecostal churches in the US. It seemed to operate similarly to a mega church, and seemed like it might be lively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livets_ord )

(The church I attend does have a number of immigrants.)

[giblets]

I talked to one of the students in my group once when we were hanging out in the evening during a conference. He thought that religion led the advanced point where belief in God was no longer necessary (just used in earlier eps'), and that Christianity was an advancement along this path (and that this is what one would learn from the correct interpretation of the Bible).

Okay, that is bizarre. I really have no clue how someone could read the Bible and conclude that it's saying there is no God.

[Combat Ingrid]

The churches I went to were not entirely dominated by old people (Actually had similar %s as the US).

And it did seem to be Swedes, not immigrants.

They were however mostly empty.

I have heard, however, that Catholics are doing better than Lutherans (% wise), and that this is because most Catholics are immigrants.

JM
(I have not been to a Catholic church in Sweden.)

(The liveliest church I went to was the livets ord church which is sort of similar to the pentecostal churches in the US. It seemed to operate similarly to a mega church, and seemed like it might be lively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livets_ord )

(The church I attend does have a number of immigrants.)

Being religious in Sweden is not that much about church attendance but rather about your personal beliefs. My mother, for example, is a moderately religious christian. Yet, she rarely ever goes to the church. She did go to the church though to light a candle for me when I moved to Canada
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if muslims have already overtaken christians in terms of worship attendance in Sweden, despite being only ~5% of the population. Just different ways of practicing the religion I suppose.

And yeah, the "Livets ord" church is the place to go for the crazy-in-the-head christians, but that was hopefully obvious to you, unless you're crazy too

[Jon Miller]

Being religious in Sweden is not that much about church attendance but rather about your personal beliefs. My mother, for example, is a moderately religious christian. Yet, she rarely ever goes to the church. She did go to the church though to light a candle for me when I moved to Canada
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if muslims have already overtaken christians in terms of worship attendance in Sweden, despite being only ~5% of the population. Just different ways of practicing the religion I suppose.

And yeah, the "Livets ord" church is the place to go for the crazy-in-the-head christians, but that was hopefully obvious to you, unless you're crazy too

Yeah, if you look at the church membership stats you would think Sweden was a very Christian nation. If you actually come here, you would think that religious belief was dead in Sweden.

The truth is in between, but I think it is fair to say that organized religion (namely the former state church) failed the religious Swedish people.

I disagree quite a bit with Livets Ord (and the similar churches in the US/etc), and it isn't where I choose to go when I am in the US. But it seems that for a good experience in Sweden, it is probably one of the best places to go. Just don't pay attention to some of what is said, probably.

JM

[Combat Ingrid]

Yeah, if you look at the church membership stats you would think Sweden was a very Christian nation. If you actually come here, you would think that religious belief was dead in Sweden.

The truth is in between, but I think it is fair to say that organized religion (namely the former state church) failed the religious Swedish people.

I disagree quite a bit with Livets Ord (and the similar churches in the US/etc), and it isn't where I choose to go when I am in the US. But it seems that for a good experience in Sweden, it is probably one of the best places to go. Just don't pay attention to some of what is said, probably.

JM

I basically agree with your first two statements.
As for the last, instead of debating it (it apparently depends a lot on your perspective) I will just point out that the vast majority of swedes consider Livets ord to be a cult of crazy fanatics.

[Jon Miller]

Yeah, I would understand why that is the case, considering that they would be considered a bit weird in the US too...

JM