Church & State – The Nordic Situation Contribution to Nordisk Systematiker konferens, Reykjavik Jan 2013

A place for people to gather

Gathering people in a place

Church/state Relations in the Nordic: West Also executive & judiciary powers with secular bodies The church is the local church – the national church is part of nation- building-bodies Theological normative grounds? Societal grounds? Grundtvig? East Internal hierarchy & internal executive and judiciary power survived reformation The church as a body to be identified survived and has been renewed (arch-bishop, synod 1860’es) Theological normative grounds? Societal grounds?

Church/state positions in the Nordic Periphery The role of the church ministers as well as local church members to societal changes (reformation – enlightenment – democracy – independence): Centre Church ministers as civil servants for the state, used to change the norms and practices of the population (reformation – enlightenment – democracy – (independence))

Church/state competences in the Nordic (historical models) West CENTRE The state supports the individual through establishing (church) institutions and secures a minimum of ecclesiastical power through systems of civil servants PERIPHERI The individual/local group establishes the church and the state shouldn’t mix itself up into that, just send the priests East CENTRE State and church support each other through mutual recognition of hierarchical powers over the people PERIPHERI The people establishes organisational power over the church as resistance towards state powers

Challenges to the Nordic welfare-state-(church)-model Monopoly - coherence Normative function of majority system State hierarchy to protection of individuals Individualisation Broad range of normative suggestions within one institutional setting Globalisation – (Post)-Secularity Global competition – global market Pluralisation Confessionalisation Chosen identity/ies Dis-solution leads to re- organisation of hierarchies, also religious leadership is reorganised on the global market

Converging changes in church-state- relations in the Nordic: Dis-establishment as either folkekirke (I, FO, N?) or majority church (S, F) Economy: state pays for folkekirke (I); for all religious communities (N); contributes to economy in religious organisations supporting democratic values (S); contributes to folkekirker (F); contributes partially to folkekirke (DK) Independent leading body as executive (F, S, I) vs delegation of powers from government (N, DK) Following law of the land (DK, I, N) vs independent legislative body (S, F) Using courts of the land (DK, I, N) vs independent ADR- institutions (S, F)

Danish government committee on the governance structure of folkekirken Of folkekirken? Or in? or around? ‘and as such supported by the state’ vs state powers in full control Locus of governance decisions – national, diocese, deanery, congregation Presence – any village vs mega-churches Congregational structures and competences

3. December 2000 (Jelling/DK)

Place of Heavenly Peace, Beijing (2010)

Church & State - & other Religious Communities in the Nordic Normative/historical: civil religion The ‘other’ as the hidden signifier Numbers Principal equality vs principal freedom Practical Functions: cemeteries (libraries, schools) Same or different legal/executive/judiciary structures in relation to the state: religions as collective entities

‘The holly Lutheran church of west- reykjavik: Neskirkja’ (wikimapia.org)

Hallgrimskyrkjan – ‘a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavik’ (wikipedia.org)

The 21 st century questions: From Church and State To Religion & Power Which from you demands normative theories on law, power, structure, institutions etc – not only in regard to religious organisations, but in regard to the societies we live in In a globalized post-secular world of competition