<p>Abstract</p><p>The purpose for writing this essay is to study the culture of kindness in the Church of Sweden, as the church constitutes as an idealistic organization (non-profit or voluntary organization).</p><p>The focal point is on how such a culture affects the employees, and if any new components</p><p>that can amplify the concept can be distinguished.</p><p>To do this a case study-design has been employed. The primary sources are qualitative</p><p>interviews with six employees in a congregation in the Church of Sweden, and participant</p><p>observations on two different occasions at the same congregation.</p><p>Theories of organizational sociology has been applied to the material, more specific Edgar H</p><p>Schein’s definition of organizational culture and the concept of a culture of kindness (deriving</p><p>from a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority) as a specific part of the church’s</p><p>organizational culture.</p><p>The conclusions we can make from our study is that a culture of kindness affect employees in</p><p>both a positive and a negative way. There are many expectations that come with working in</p><p>the Church of Sweden, and these do have an effect on the work performed. There is also</p><p>evidence pointing to the fact that leadership can counteract the fear of conflicts that otherwise</p><p>is associated with the culture of kindness. Finally one can conclude that the concept of</p><p>kindness culture could be elaborated, for instance with a notion of leadership.</p>

<p>En undersökning och diskussion av motiv för att döpa barn, med fokus på Svenska kyrkan. Motiven studeras från tre olika aktörers perspektiv: 1) Traditionen, framförallt den lutherska reformatoriska traditionen, 2) Svenska kyrkans nutida lära och reflektion, samt 3) De föräldrar som valt att låta döpa sina barn. En stor spänning blir synlig i skillnaden mellan dopföräldrarnas syn på dopet och de övriga två aktörernas dopsyn. Men även mellan traditionen och Svenska kyrkans nutida lära finns avgörande skillnader, framförallt vad gäller synen på människan och på dopets eventuella nödvändighet. Två möjliga vägar framåt diskuteras; dels vad det skulle innebära att tydligare lyfta fram berättelserna om Jesu dop som modell för det kristna dopet, dels hur liturgin i gudstjänsten kan ses som ett kommunikativt växelspel.</p>

<p>The theoretical discussion of how to define the public sphere relies on Jürgen Habermas’ analysis of the bourgeois public sphere. I the thesis I use two generalized models of both the bourgeois and the representative public sphere. I consider how well the two actors’ engagement in the public sphere fits the two models. By doing this it is possible to show that <i>both</i> models may be used, despite dealing with a time when, according to Habermas, the representative public sphere had disappeared and the bourgeois public sphere was in decline. </p><p>The two actors studied in this thesis emerged from state and society respectively, and therefore were governed by different circumstances in participating in public life. Despite these differences, I demonstrate that their strategies were very similar, and that largely the key issue for both was legitimacy, proven by their popularity, or in other words by their democratically public nature.</p><p>Thanks to a number of new activities, introduced within both organisations, the members became visible in a new way. One can describe it as form replacing content in both organisations, where the original core activities had to make way for new elements. In the thesis I argue for the value of studying <i>actions</i> in the public sphere rather than just models of it.</p><p>The need for these organisations to become, and preferably to remain, popular, arose from the changes that the public sphere itself underwent during the period, becoming what I choose to term a <i>popularised public sphere</i>. Participating in the public sphere then became a matter not only for striving for the right to criticise and influence public power, but equally well of demonstrating oneself to be a credible representative of the participants in public discourse. </p>

The theoretical discussion of how to define the public sphere relies on Jürgen Habermas’ analysis of the bourgeois public sphere. I the thesis I use two generalized models of both the bourgeois and the representative public sphere. I consider how well the two actors’ engagement in the public sphere fits the two models. By doing this it is possible to show that both models may be used, despite dealing with a time when, according to Habermas, the representative public sphere had disappeared and the bourgeois public sphere was in decline. The two actors studied in this thesis emerged from state and society respectively, and therefore were governed by different circumstances in participating in public life. Despite these differences, I demonstrate that their strategies were very similar, and that largely the key issue for both was legitimacy, proven by their popularity, or in other words by their democratically public nature. Thanks to a number of new activities, introduced within both organisations, the members became visible in a new way. One can describe it as form replacing content in both organisations, where the original core activities had to make way for new elements. In the thesis I argue for the value of studying actions in the public sphere rather than just models of it. The need for these organisations to become, and preferably to remain, popular, arose from the changes that the public sphere itself underwent during the period, becoming what I choose to term a popularised public sphere. Participating in the public sphere then became a matter not only for striving for the right to criticise and influence public power, but equally well of demonstrating oneself to be a credible representative of the participants in public discourse.

Abstract The purpose for writing this essay is to study the culture of kindness in the Church of Sweden, as the church constitutes as an idealistic organization (non-profit or voluntary organization). The focal point is on how such a culture affects the employees, and if any new components that can amplify the concept can be distinguished. To do this a case study-design has been employed. The primary sources are qualitative interviews with six employees in a congregation in the Church of Sweden, and participant observations on two different occasions at the same congregation. Theories of organizational sociology has been applied to the material, more specific Edgar H Schein’s definition of organizational culture and the concept of a culture of kindness (deriving from a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority) as a specific part of the church’s organizational culture. The conclusions we can make from our study is that a culture of kindness affect employees in both a positive and a negative way. There are many expectations that come with working in the Church of Sweden, and these do have an effect on the work performed. There is also evidence pointing to the fact that leadership can counteract the fear of conflicts that otherwise is associated with the culture of kindness. Finally one can conclude that the concept of kindness culture could be elaborated, for instance with a notion of leadership.

En undersökning och diskussion av motiv för att döpa barn, med fokus på Svenska kyrkan. Motiven studeras från tre olika aktörers perspektiv: 1) Traditionen, framförallt den lutherska reformatoriska traditionen, 2) Svenska kyrkans nutida lära och reflektion, samt 3) De föräldrar som valt att låta döpa sina barn. En stor spänning blir synlig i skillnaden mellan dopföräldrarnas syn på dopet och de övriga två aktörernas dopsyn. Men även mellan traditionen och Svenska kyrkans nutida lära finns avgörande skillnader, framförallt vad gäller synen på människan och på dopets eventuella nödvändighet. Två möjliga vägar framåt diskuteras; dels vad det skulle innebära att tydligare lyfta fram berättelserna om Jesu dop som modell för det kristna dopet, dels hur liturgin i gudstjänsten kan ses som ett kommunikativt växelspel.

Syftet med denna studie är att öka kunskapen om diakoners arbete med papperslösa. I Sverige finns det 10 000-tals papperslösa som befinner sig här efter att undanhållit sig utvisningsbeslut, smugglats in som traffickingoffer eller strävar efter att arbeta ihop inkomster att skicka till hemlandet. Med en kvalitativ ansats har jag intervjuat sex stycken diakoner som arbetar i Svenska kyrkan i Stockholm, och som alla möter och erbjuder socialt stöd till papperslösa. Resultatet har jag analyserat utifrån teori om ekologiskt perspektiv på socialt arbete med flyktingar och migranter, samt teorier om värdegrunder i socialt arbete. Resultatet visar att diakonerna fokuserar på det sociala arbetet på mikronivå, men att viss samverkan på mesonivå förekommer. Dock förekommer inte särskilt mycket samverkan med andra diakoner som möter papperslösa. De diakoner som samverkar minst uttrycker en ensamhet rörande sitt arbete. Diakonerna ställs inför etiska överväganden rörande resursfördelning och då prioriteras papperslösa overstayers framför de som befinner sig i Sverige för att arbeta. Resultatet visar även att diakonerna upplever en maktlöshet rörande sitt arbete och gör etiska överväganden huruvida det är värt att bistå människor som lever papperslösa, trots att det i vissa fall verkar bättre att återvända. Denna maktlöshet kan kopplas till de juridiska kunskaper diakonerna besitter eller saknar, då den diakon som har störst juridisk kunskap även är den som uttrycker mest hopp. Med ökad samverkan mellan diakoner som arbetar med gruppen, och med ökande juridiska kunskaper gällande lagstiftningen verkar både känslan av ensamhet och maktlöshet att minska.   Nyckelord: Papperslösa, diakon, Svenska kyrkan, trosbaserat socialt arbete, flyktingar, migration   Keywords: Undocumented Migrants, Irregular Migrants, Deacon, Church of Sweden, Faith-based Social Work, Refugees, Migration

Tidigare studier visar att sekulariseringen inneburit stora förändringar på det religiösa området. Studiens syfte var att beskriva hur präster inom Svenska kyrkan i Gävle uppfattade sekulariseringens påverkan. Fokus låg på att beskriva de kvalitativt olika uppfattningar som fanns, då dessa förhoppningsvis skulle ge en ökad och fördjupad vetskap kring sekulariseringens olika verkningar. Det empiriska materialet samlades in via kvalitativa intervjuer där åtta präster gav uttryck för sina uppfattningar. Studien visar på att kvalitativt olika uppfattningar fanns. Vidare visar studien på en rad intressanta strategier och åtgärder som behövs i det framtida kyrkliga arbetet. Det gäller bland annat organisatoriska förändringar i form av hur många kyrkor som ska finnas och hur ofta det ska firas gudstjänst, ett ökat samarbete mellan de lokala församlingarna och en utveckling av högmässan.

This thesis examines the regional part of the Church of Sweden. Existing as a Lutheran evangelical church since the declaration in Uppsala in 1593, the Church of Sweden became completely separate from the state in the year 2000. Apart from a small piece of legislation by the Swedish parliament, the now former state controlled church were to act on their own. This development can be seen as a result of several decades of discussions. The author is raising the question about the roll and function of bishops and dioceses in the Church of Sweden. By using original non-theological concepts such as isomorphism and management, the ecclesiological function of the Church of Sweden is presented. The terminology of management from business and economics has influenced the economic language of the church. In several cases the Church of Sweden has been subject to isomorphic impacts in bureaucratic and economical matters. The impression is that the development has partly been reduced from the regions or the dioceses. The author also presents a keyword for meta-ecclesiology; the church as such.

According to the directives of Lgr11, learning about Christianity should be an important part of religious education in secondary school (7th-9th grade) in Sweden. A school teacher must therefore have good knowledge of the field and of different aspects of the beliefs of the various Christian traditions. This essay is about how salvation is conceived of by two members of the laity in each of three different Christian traditions: the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Sweden (which is Lutheran). As a theoretical perspective for my analysis, I have chosen the official views of salvation of these three churches. That is to say, views of the members of the laity have been compared with the official views of the respective churches. It is thus a very limited qualitative study aiming at finding out how the views of the laity conform to the official creed concerning salvation and whether there are any differences here between the churches. The result of this essay is that there were few differences and a lot of similarities between the laity belief in the relation to the official doctrines of salvation. Only among the protestant laity differences were prominent.