Record number of new members in the Church of Sweden
Confirmation in St. Mary's Church, Ystad, Sweden. Photo Wikipedia, Jonn Leffmann
Northern Europe
During the first four months of 2022, 3,220 active entries took place in the Church of Sweden. It is the highest figure since the church began keeping statistics.
According to the preliminary statistics, the entry figures are the highest since 2004, Swedish newspaper Dagen writes. But while more people choose to become members of the church, the number of people who actively left the church is higher. During the first four months of the year, 12,512 people resigned from their membership.
However, this trend is downwards. During the same period in 2017, 23,503 people left the church. Since then, the numbers have steadily declined.
"It is great that the number of people who choose to become members of @svenskakyrkan is increasing!", writes Archbishop Antje Jackelén on Twitter. "In addition, more people feel that the Church of Sweden is relevant in society – an increase from 40 to 58 per cent," she adds.
Toppen att antalet människor som väljer att bli medlemmar i @svenskakyrkan ökar! 3.220 nya medlemmar under årets första fyra månader enligt preliminära siffror.
— Antje Jackelén (@BiskopAntje) May 10, 2022
Dessutom upplever fler att Svenska kyrkan är relevant i samhället – en ökning från 40 till 58 procent. pic.twitter.com/CWMWHWK1ZW
The Church of Sweden has also presented confirmation statistics for 2021. The figures show that 19.7 per cent of all 15-year-olds were confirmed last year. In 2020, the corresponding figure was 19.9 per cent, while 22.3 of the 15-year-olds were confirmed in 2019. The Church of Sweden supposes that the pandemic has continued to affect the level.
The total number of confirmations in 2021 was 24,073.
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