The controversial phenomenon of ?seeker-oriented? megachurches are currently transforming the American religious landscape. These churches, some housing up to 30,000 worshippers every week, are targeting religious seekers as their primary objective. Their success in attracting and converting those who usually wouldn?t even think of attending church can in large parts be explained by changes in liturgy, the removal of visible theological discussion and use of shopping mall styled buildings, designed to make the religious seeker feel like home.

The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent some Swedish bishops (1972-2014), mainly archbishops, were influenced by postmodernity as described by Lyotard in his report La Condition postmoderne (1979).This report had a tremendous impact on the western cultural and philosophical debate in general during the very end of the twentieth century. I am trying to find out if this impact could also be observed in the religious sphere and particularly in the Church of Sweden. My theory used, is mainly based on the ideas presented in La Condition postmoderne and my method is a hermeneutical reading of eight pastoral letters. These letters were written during the time that the Church of Sweden transformed from being an officially recognized national church to a free church among other free churches and in this respect ended to be a part of the official governmental power. The terms postmodernism or post-modernity were scarcely used at all in the pastoral letters but on the other hand the bishops seemed to share many of the ideas that Lyotard presented, such as the view on the metahistory/metanarrative and the connection of knowledge to power, the necessity of dialogue and openness and the importance and the role of creating and maintaining language games..

What does the Swedish church Västerås stand for today according to the employees and how do they want to profile themselves to the target group? What image and what expectations does the target group have of the Swedish church Västerås? How can the Swedish church Västerås communicate uniform, with the intent to create mutual value with the target group?The purpose of the study is to make recommendations to the Swedish church Västerås for their prospective communication plan by examining their profile and target group's image and expectations of the organization. The study also aims to examine how the Swedish church Västerås can communicate their brand uniform.The study applies a qualitative research with deductive approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of the employees and focus groups with a sample of the target group.Better match between profile and image means that SkVs employees better understand the organization and can communicate more uniform which leads to a stronger brand identity. If SkV understands what is relevant for their target group, they can reduce the total cost of customer delivered value and thus increase the total value.

For almost a century the debate about women as ordained servants in the Church of Sweden has raged on and on. The decision to open up the priesthood for both genders in 1958 was a milestone in the women?s liberation movement as well as it marks an important time in the church history. The debate has mainly been about how to interpret scripture, who has the right to do so, and so on. Feminist theology has become one way in recent decades to paint a wider and more nuanced picture of history and how to interpret the texts often used to repress women.This essay surveys some of the steps towards that decision, as well as it paints a rough picture of what leadership among women in the church could involve before ordination became an option.

The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate how non-profit organizations map the market of potential donors and how they apply their knowledge about the motives of the potential donors. The case-study of Church of Sweden Aid shows how a Swedish non-profit organization applies this in the daily work. In its strategic marketing the organization actively use marketing surveys in different forms. By employing an analyst Church of Sweden Aid has a possibility to make another step forward in order to understand its donor market and to adjust its strategic marketing plan to it. Church of Sweden Aid says that they don?t work with the donor?s motives.

The purpose of this study is to analyse asylum seeking converts understanding of their conversion process based on church context, specifically within the realm of evangelical church and theology. Through the method of content analysis this essay analyses six qualitative interviews done with converts from two Islamic traditions to Swedish free church Christianity. The essay discusses the results through the lens of Lewis Rambos seven-phase theoretical concept of conversion. The important results given by this study shows that the first contact with other Christians in a new country, which creates a new community serving as an interpretive framework for their lives, triumphs the question of the theological perception for the conversion. Also, the results shows that intellectual understanding of the doctrines of faith is less important relative to the conversion process best described by the words touched, taught, and transformed.

The intension with the thesis is to investigate how mass communication is adopted as a strategy to increase the membership activity within religious communions in Sweden. In the years past it has shown a decreased activity within religious communion, deliberate strategies have been missing and efforts on resources for less effective strategies have been made. The study has been carried out through a review of existing theory within the field of subject, communication within religious communion and the use of mass communication within religious communion. The Swedish church was chosen as a case, where three persons were interviewed. The result from this study shows that the Swedish church communication operates on several different levels: these are detached and self-determinate.

Archbishop KG Hammar has attracted attention for his liberal position in theology. His view on the role of language and communication is central in several books and articles he has published as leader of the Church of Sweden. One of his main theses is the fact that meaning is created in the encounter between text and reader. He often reiterates: God is relation. This non-traditional dynamic stance has a broad impact not only on theology.

I uppsatsen undersöks om prästvigningsliturgierna i Church of England och Svenska kyrkan är teologiskt utbytbara mot varandra, oaktat kyrkorättsliga aspekter. Undersökningen utgår från Borgådeklarationen, dess skrivningar om Kyrkan och samarbetet över samfundsgränserna. I Borgådeklarationen har ett antal katolicitetsmarkörer, som ger uttryck för Kyrkans tro och som kan anses vara besändiga över tid, lokaliserats och prästvigningsliturgierna undersöks utifrån dessa. Liturgierna, katolicitetsmarkörerna och förhållandet mellan de enskilda kyrkorna och Kristi världsvida, universella, kyrka analyseras. Undersökningen visar att prästvigningsliturgierna är teologiskt utbytbara mot varandra och att de har ett likartat teologiskt innehåll som står i samklang med den andra kyrkan..

During the period of occupation of Norway between the years 1940-1945 the National Lutheran Church took the responsibility of supporting the Norweigans in their ideological battle against the Nazis. This was a period named Holdningskampen in Norwegian history. One person to remember was Eivind Berggrav, bishop in Oslo diocese. He was the one responsible for the theological document of importance Kirkens Grunn that became important as a document against the Nazis and the small percentage of Christians that related to the naziinspired-church. Berggrav was also one of the founders of Den Midlertidlige Kirkeledelsen, the organisation responsible for the non-nazified churches.

The main purpose of this essay is to analyze the late medieval shirt found in the cathedral of Lund. It has been preserved in the church and later on exhibited in the museum of Lunds cathedral. The most interesting thing about this shirt is probably its close connection to the secular world, as well as to the church. At first sight it appears to be a liturgical garment, it seams to be far too big for a regular, profane smock or shirt, but in a letter received by the church of Lund from Christian I of Denmark this shirt is mentioned as a chemise, or smock. The questions I aim to answer on the following pages goes, what characterizes the chemise or smock? What characterizes the mass shirt or alba? How can you use this type of analyse to examine the shirt from the cathedral of Lund?.

This is a study of American Methodist Mission in Sweden and how this mission eventually formed the Methodist Church in Sweden 1876. The mission began as a consequence of returning Swedish emigrants and sailors who had encountered Methodism in America, mainly through the works of Swedish-American missionary Olof Gustaf Hedström on the Bethel ship in New York. During the 1850?s Methodist missionaries were sent to Scandinavia by the American Missions Society. The first to come to Sweden was Johan Peter Larsson, who spent two years in Sweden in 1854 before he was transferred to Norway.

How the Eucharist?s motive of communion in combination with Lögstrup?s ethics could motivate a non-alcoholic sacramental wine in the Church of Sweden.The purpose of this essay is to illuminate the meeting between the person who gives out bread and wine in the Eucharist and the person who receives the wine, from tree perspectives: the communion in the Eucharist, the ethical demand of K.E. Lögstrup, and today?s knowledge of alcohol and it?s negative effects on the human being. I want to study how these three perspectives can affect the interpersonal meeting in the Eucharist when it comes to giving out alcoholic wine, and to investigate if Lögstrups ethical demand could be used by the Church of Sweden when to decide about a sacramental wine with or without alcohol.I have started to study K.E Lögstrup and his theory about the ethical demand, and then researched the Eucharist in the Church of Sweden and the results of recent sociological and medical research of alcohol?s effect on the individual and on society.

The overall purpose of the essay is to initiate a survey and highlight, on the basis of sufficiently material, the dealings between Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a member of the resistance and the Swedish Church and/or its representatives. The purpose of the survey is to structure Dietrich Bonhoeffers activities in Sweden and highlight its implications.The following research questions have been used:1: What was Dietrich Bonhoeffer doing in Sweden and what persons did he meet?2: What was the role of the Swedish Church during the Second World War? 3: What was the impact of Dietrich Bonhoeffers visits to Sweden?In conclusion, this study of the contacts between Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Swedish Church has shown: Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in Sweden on two occasions. He met representatives of the Swedish Church, which was engaged in issues related to ecumenism, resistance and peacework. Although the persons he met were representatives of the Swedish Church they sometimes acted as individuals with a Christian philosophy.

The goal an purpose of this essay is to study the diffrent points of view that Swedish priest within the Swedish Church have on the Topic of same sex marriage. I will use qualitative interview as method of choice to get answers for my questions.The results of my study reveal that same sex mariiage has been a dividing issue between the different participants. Those in favour of the church´s decision to legalize same sex marriage consider love to be the most importent reason for marriage, while those who oppose the decision consider marriage to be a holy sacrament that is not easily changed..