Nordic people’s churches to combat falling baptism rates

In the last years, the Nordic folk churches have experienced a decline in the number of baptisms, in absolute numbers, and relative to the number of new-borns. It reflects the weakened role of infant baptism as a general rite de passage and the changed situation of the Lutheran majority churches in the Nordic societies. At the same time, there has been an increase in baptisms of youth and adults.

According to Jonas Adelin Jørgensen from the Danish National Church's Interchurch Council, the Danish leader in the joint Nordic project, called "Baptism in times of change", the Nordic national churches are experiencing the same trend: Baptism has become an option that requires justification. The parents consider whether they can vouch for it and whether the child himself should have the right to choose.

Baptism gets less important

"The declining baptism rate is important, both theologically and organisationally, because baptism is the gateway to membership in the Nordic churches, and a declining baptism rate therefore also means a lower membership percentage. Theologically, because a declining baptism rate suggests that members of the churches do not see the same importance in baptism as our Lutheran theological tradition", Jonas Adelin Jørgensen explains in Kristeligt Dagblad.

Because of the developments surrounding baptism, the five Lutheran national churches in the Nordic countries have started a new collaboration to change baptismal practices in the long term. The baptism pilot project aims to contribute to reflection and learning processes in the churches regarding the role of baptism in the churches' self-understanding and practices, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark writes. The project will ultimately lead to several recommendations concerning developing baptismal theology.

Conference in January

The initiative was launched in the early spring and must result in a joint Nordic conference in Copenhagen in January 2022.

"Baptism in times of change" is part of the joint Nordic initiative Churches in Times of Change (CITC), which focuses on changes in ecclesial practice and theology in the Nordic region. In the five Nordic countries, the situation for the churches is quite comparable theologically, historically, and sociologically.