Swedish Belief and Swedish Tradition : The Role of Religion in Sweden Democrat Nationalism

Abstract: In the context of Western, European, Nordic, and Swedish radical nationalism, this study is an analysis of the various ways the political party the Sweden Democrats talks about religion; primarily about Swedish Evangelical-Lutheran Christianity and the Church of Sweden.   The study investigates the party expressions on religion and nationalism, using theoretical models of interpretation, constructed for this specific purpose, out of hermeneutic methodology.   The purpose has been to analyse the different functions of the various ways the Sweden Democrats talk about religion, and to investigate how the references to religion legitimize the ideology of nationalism, with the aim to answer the following questions: How do the Sweden Democrats’ talk on religion function as an identity marker? In what way is it possible to distinguish an aspiration for cultural purity in the Sweden Democrats’ talk on religion? Is it possible to distinguish neo-racism in the Sweden Democrats’ talk on religion? In which ways can the Sweden Democrats’ talk on religion be regarded as political strategy?   The results demonstrate in which ways the Sweden Democrats apply religion to promote the party perceptions of nationalism, as well as to legitimize the party conceptions of the Swedish nation and the Swedish people: Swedish Christianity and the Church of Sweden are used to identify Swedish culture and to identify contrasting foreign culture. Swedish Christianity is used as the determining factor between the good Swedish people and the bad other people. Swedish Christianity is used as the determining factor between the right Swedish values and the wrong values of the other. Swedish Christian values are used as dividing criteria between the culturally pure Swedish people and the culturally impure other people. The degeneration of the Church of Sweden mirrors the degeneration of the Swedish society. Swedish Christian homogeneity will guarantee security for the Swedish people and the Swedish nation within the Swedish nation-state. Elements of religion and culture sort different peoples into different categories in the hierarchical view of humanity. Swedish Christianity and Swedish culture identify and define the Swedish people as innocent to the current precarious situation of the Swedish nation, and Swedish Christianity and Swedish culture identify and define the people of the other, which is to blame for this situation. The Swedish people is superior, to the non-Swedish people, because of superior Swedish religion and superior Swedish culture. Swedish Christianity is used to promote anti-democratic political positions. Swedish Christianity is used to legitimize coercion and force in the enforcement of Swedishness.