In this conference presentation, I talk about Swedes leaving The Church of Sweden; i.e., opting out of an ascribed identity as Evangelical Lutherans MAINLY FOR FINANCIAL GAIN (to save on Church membership fees). In other words, this is rational decision-making utilizing a cost-benefits approach. I seriously doubt that the choice to opt out of membership in the Church of Sweden has much to do with religious choice. I could be wrong, but for those leaving “The Church,” I think it is purely an economic choice based on money, not on religious conviction, or lack thereof. By contrast, I do think what has happened with secular Jews in Israel is a matter of conviction. Like Sweden, Israel has a mandatory Burial Tax and a large segment of its population consists of secular Jews (i.e., those who consider being Jewish an ethnicity and not a profession of religious faith). In Israel, these secular Jews became politically active to demand that civil (non-religious) burials be made available; and they succeeded: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/secular-burial-site-approved-in-jerusalem-1.74744
Burial is a significant rite of passage and most people have strong feelings about the burial rituals to be observed upon their passing. I can state this unequivocally as an attorney who specializes in Wills, Estates, and Trusts. I have prepared hundreds of end-of-life decision making documents (Wills, Living Wills, Powers of Attorney, inter vivos burial expense trusts, Donation of Body Parts documents, etc.) and know that clients give considerable thought to the contents of these death-planning documents. In Sweden, the inability to vote in The Church elections results in an inability to elect the leadership of The Church – the 250 odd “national officers” of The Church who determine how The Church’s obligation to provide for non-Lutheran burials in Sweden will be fulfilled. (For more on this, see “The Lives of Different Believers,” pp 62-70 of my dissertation—LEGISLATIVE TERRORISM, uploaded on RG.) It is The Church that administers all of the public graveyards in Sweden (except in Stockholm and the small town of Tranås); in this connection, it also establishes the amount of the Burial Tax, which is imposed on all taxpayers. Since there are practically no private graveyards in Sweden, The Church has a virtual monopoly on burial sites in the country.
Given this state of affairs, would it be unethical to make the rational choice to join The Church so that one has some say in which persons become the elected officials who dole out non-Lutheran burial space? Would it be more or less unethical if the person performing this costs-benefits analysis and joining The Church is a Catholic, Muslim, or Secular Humanist?
Conference Paper A Buyer's Market: The Commodification of Religion in Sweden
Fortunately there's an answer in all three of the Synoptic Gospels - if you're paying for a service from an organization, there's a cost for anything - but if religion sneaks in, as our friend Jeshua said "Give unto the Church of Sweden what is the Church of Sweden's and give unto God that which is God's." As an attorney you could charter a company to engage in development of Tranas as a "Lutheran Free Burial Destination" and since you would be the only folks outside Stockholm with a plot of free earth, you could provide accoutrements for Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Anamists, Buddhists and even Unitarians, perhaps the most Un-Lutheran of all. And why not, they were founded in Transylvania, and that's the awful truth. Here in Boston, a gangster just got put away for swindling the Swedenborgian Church out of millions, Emmanuel Swedenborg had it all figured out anyway. We claim the Mormons - you folks own Swedenborg - stand up for your national quasi-Christian innovators! (PS I once danced with a Bernadotte when said princess was a student at Radcliffe. You're lucky I'm not a royal!)
Thank you, Laurence for your insightful and humorous response. You made my day.
Gwen
As a Swede myself, I was born as a member of the Swedish Church. Since (perhaps) a decade ago or so, you as a Swedish citizen are no longer born automatically as a member of the State Church, in other words you now have to actively apply for membership.
You have the Swedish Church's statistics of membership from 1970 to 2014 at their website http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/statistik , se right menu for the text "Inträden i och utträden ur Svenska kyrkan 1970-2014 (pdf 2 sid)".
I am unsure if it would be a rational choice, to enter the Church (fee being 1% of your taxable income I believe) just to vote for a clergy member you support. At least in Northern Sweden where I'm from, there is little attention to who will be nominated as Bishop or even local Pastor. (This in contrast to northern-most Sweden among the Saami people, where the election of church leader is extremely important to ensure that the Christian doctrine has a 'healthy dose' of Sami indigenous religion in it still, see Laestadianism).
Beyond that, paying an additional 1% tax of your taxable income to receive a free burial, which at least cost 15,000-25,000SEK seems reasonble to me.
On the other hand, the State will "dispose" of your body, by cremation, if no such membership and next of kin exists when the individual dies.
(And on your last note, there are many immigrants in Sweden who do join the Church actually, I would say though not due to any "freebies" of burial services, but rather to have an easier time getting connections with Swedes, and immerse in the community faster. A perfect example on this is how the Swedish Jehovah's Witnesses congregations have rapidly changed demography).
Sorry for the laymen "answer", I'm not much of a Church scholar xD
Tack så mycket, Lars! Det var precis den typ av svar som jag letade efter! Och det där om Saami befolkningen var väldigt intressant.
Gwen
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