WHY GRANTS TO FAITH COMMUNITIES?

The state grants to faith communities focuses on supporting religious life through organizational grants. In other words, the faith communites receives grants for what they are ­– and not for specific projects that carry out.

What is meant by this? In the preparatory legal work to the current laws regarding state support, the government states that the churches and other religious communities are socially beneficial institutions and therefore worthy of support. Within the Swedish state model for grants, there is a tradition that the state supports certain free civil institutions without reservations other than formal ones. The grants to the civil society include grants for political parties, the press and higher education. In a living democracy there should be institutions that are supported in the long term and therefore in their activities face political fluctuations.

Read more on the ideas and discussion regarding grants to faith communities in Sweden: "Contribution to the Contributors of Society" article by Director Åke Göransson (PDF ,1 MB Pdf, 1 MB.)


Strengthens basic values of society

The Swedish Government believes that the faith communities, together with other parts of the civil society, participates in the ongoing norm-formation process that is necessary to maintain and strengthen the basic values ​​on which society rests. The Government also point to the fact that active associations and community life in many ways strengthens the democratic system. The fact that different ideologies and beliefs, which work to maintain, strengthen and develop our democratic state of state, also have good opportunities to assert themselves, is therefore of great importance for the vitality of Swedish democracy.

Other motives for the state to support the faith communities are:

  • The state should support other faith communities when the Church of Sweden receives state support
  • Religious minorities should be able to maintain and develop their religious traditions.
  • The activities of the faith communites contributes to giving the individual one basic identity and social and cultural community.
  • In the event of accidents and emergency conditions, the need for the services of the faith communities is of particular importance (chaplaincy, pastoral care, etcetera).
  • Active and vital faith communities reduce the scope for all kinds of extreme movements.
  • The faith communities contributes to the integration of immigrants