Lund University Students, Christianity and Lund Cathedral

Abstract: Lund Cathedral, founded in the beginning of the 12th century, is part of the history of Sweden, being visited by people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Although its popularity among tourists, said institution is facing difficulties to attract young Swedes to their activities, among them, Swedish students of Lund University. The inspiration for this thesis came from my internship at the cathedral, performed last year. Needless to say, a church willing to communicate with young Swedes, as it is the case, needs to gain a better understanding on the reasons why that target group behave in the ways they do. By acquiring such knowledge, stereotypes on how Swedish students of Lund University think of Christianity and the Cathedral, for instance, can more easily be surpassed. This is a case study of aforementioned religious institution, which will focus upon how the latter is perceived by that target group. Different qualitative methods were used in the research process, which were mainly in-depth interviews and participant observations. Briefly said, the research concluded that the majority of the university students interviewed is not inclined to attend church activities because visiting the church has not been part of their upbringing and hence, going to the church is not seen a normal part of their weekly routines. Furthermore, it was stated that the academic environment does not encourage religiousness, especially when it comes to Christianity.