Religionsfrihetslag

The word of the week in Sweden was religionsfrihetslag; it meant a new measure of religious freedom for Swedes.

Ever since a young nobleman named Gustav Vasa fought his way to the throne in the 16th century and broke with Rome, Sweden has been overwhelmingly Lutheran. For most of that time it has had a Lutheran state church with the kind of brassbound temporal authority that Protestants are often pointing fingers at the Roman Catholics for. The king of Sweden and all his ministers had te be members of the Church of Sweden,* all citizens had to pay taxes for its support, and no one could leave it officially except to join another Christian church. Roman Catholics were forbidden to set up monasteries or convents.

By the law that went into effect this week after seven years of deliberation, the king, the minister of ecclesiastical affairs and education, state church officials and professors of practical theology still have to be Lutherans. But anyone else may drop out and join any church he cares to, or may choose to join none at all. Catholics may organize monasteries and convents if they wish to. Citizens who do not belong to the state church will now get a 40% exemption from the obligatory church tax.

The non-state churches expect no stampede to their ranks. "It will be a trickle, not a landslide," said Methodist Bishop Theodor Arvidson.

*Which nominally covers about 98% of Sweden's 7,000,000 population. Of the 300,000 ''dissenting" Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics and others, many are still counted as members of the state church.

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