Funeral associations and burial issues

Per-Arne Håkansson (S)

Madam Speaker! Even though it has been over 25 years since the Church of Sweden ceased to be a state church after almost 500 years, there are strong connections to society and people's everyday lives.

An open and democratically structured people's church is, as I see it, of importance to safeguard.

In the Committee on the Constitution's report KU27, which we are to deal with today, there are nine motions from the general motion period that concern some of these issues. I would like to here move for approval of the committee's proposal and rejection of the motions.

The motions concern issues regarding the Swedish Church's position, state aid with the church fee, the burial fee, competition within the funeral industry, and a state insurance protection for religious communities. One of the motions, from Stefan Olsson in Moderaterna, raises the question of considering an investigation regarding an abolition of the Act on the Swedish Church.

I would like, by reason of this, to provide a little background to the law on the Swedish Church's accession and the significance it de facto has, even though it has soon been three decades since it began to take shape. This applies not least to a year like this, when it is time for the church election, to be held on Sunday, September 21, and the church's role in society may come palpably into focus.

Madam Speaker! The relationship between the state and the Church of Sweden was preceded by a principle decision here in the Riksdag in 1995. This was then followed in the years thereafter by a series of decisions which, among other things, involved amendments to the Instrument of Government and the Freedom of the Press Act, as well as the laws on religious communities, on the Church of Sweden, and on the introduction of the Act on the Church of Sweden, which were decided in 1998 and which in themselves would function as transitional provisions.

In the law, there are provisions regarding the Church of Sweden as a religious community, its organizational structure, the church fee, church property and – not least importantly – the right to access the church's documents and archives.

The civil registration, which the Church of Sweden took care of for centuries, are historical documents of very great value for the people's history and are available for research and public interest.

In the first paragraph of the law, it is emphasized that the Church of Sweden is an evangelical-Lutheran religious community that appears as parishes and dioceses. One who wishes can, based on this, make a kind of connection to the constitution and the Act of Succession, which stipulates that a member of the royal house must be of evangelical-Lutheran faith according to the unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Uppsala meeting of 1593.

From the second paragraph of the Act, it appears that the Church of Sweden is an open people's church which, in cooperation between a democratic organization and the church's office, conducts a nationwide activity.

For my part, I would like to highlight the Church of Sweden's role in cultural heritage, diaconia, and nature conservation as well as, not least, its role as a driving party in religious dialogue with other religious denominations, such as Judaism and Islam, on both a local and national level. In this way, it becomes a force to strengthen and work with diversity and religious dialogue. This promotes, as I see it, openness in society, integration, respect for differences, and the human community that is needed to prevent hate, threats, and exclusion.

The committee has previously rejected motions with a request that the government should submit proposals to change the legislation in order to change the relationship between the Church of Sweden and the state. The issue was last addressed during the 2021/22 parliamentary session. The committee sees no reason to change its position and maintains its previous stance.

Madam Speaker! Regarding the issue of competition within the funeral industry, which is raised in a motion by Kristina Axén Olin in Moderaterna, a notice is requested to review the ownership of the funeral operations in order to prevent what is asserted in the motion as unhealthy competition.

According to the mover, the current regulation means that private funeral homes end up in an unfair competitive situation when individual parishes within the Church of Sweden, which is the principal for funerals everywhere except in Stockholm Municipality and Tranås Municipality, start their own funeral homes on a commercial basis.

Democratic control is of importance, and the Competition Authority has looked into this issue. In most cases, a close and, as I understand it, trusting cooperation is maintained between parishes and funeral homes.

The Competition Authority, however, emphasizes in its report, based on the situations that have arisen, that existing supervision is not sufficient and proposes some legislative changes in the form that ecclesiastical funeral homes shall not be allowed to charge either the church fee or the funeral fee, that they shall have special staff employed outside of the ecclesiastical activities, and that a general principle of equal treatment shall prevail in order to avoid mixing the roles of principal and contractor.

Madam Speaker! The Church Board has also adopted guidelines for conducting business activities in the parish. The guidelines were updated as recently as June 2023 in the part concerning the funeral home operations.

The Council emphasizes that business activities are conducted on competitive grounds and with regard to competition neutrality. The Council's opinions are not binding, as each parish is independent, but it is the church meeting's view. Furthermore, it is stated that the situation the parish is in must not be used to provide undue competitive advantages, and that neither the church fee nor the burial fee shall be used in business activities.

The Committee notes that the Church Meeting has recently addressed the issue of funeral homes. We also note that the Competition Authority's letter is currently being processed at the Government Offices.

Funeral associations and funeral matters

Against this background, the committee is not prepared to take any initiatives for a specific review of the competition conditions within the funeral industry. On the other hand, it may be reasonable to point out that the latest investigation into the funeral industry was carried out 17–18 years ago and that much has happened since then. There is reason, as I see it, to monitor the issues surrounding the funeral industry moving forward.

Madam Speaker! I shall finally say a few words regarding the motion from Dzenan Cisija from the Socialdemokraterna concerning state insurance protection for religious communities. The motion highlights the problem that insurance companies in some cases refuse to insure the property of religious communities, referring to the fact that the hatred and threats against them have intensified. It is obviously a very serious situation, which gives a picture of the reality that many religious communities unfortunately live in in a time of increasing contradictions between different social groups.

The current arrangement is that organizations within civil society whose activities are affected by fear of threats, violence, and harassment can apply for state grants for security-enhancing measures. This also applies to religious communities. The committee notes that the government, against the background that there are religious communities that find it more difficult to insure the premises, has initiated work in this area. The Agency for Support to Religious Communities has been allocated funds for this.

In view of the ongoing work, the committee therefore sees no reason for further initiatives at this time. The question is, however, based on the circumstances that have been reported, highly urgent to monitor. It is of great importance that all religious communities and belief systems in Sweden can live in safety and security in our country.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 17.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)