Andreas Bernberg

The betrayal of politics? : diaconal and liturgical practices and the theopolitical character of the church of Sweden Andreas Bernberg

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the theopolitical character of the Church of Sweden as it is expressed in its practices, and to contribute with empirically grounded and conceptual resources for ecclesiological reflections on the church's political role and identity. The overarching research question guiding this thesis is: How is the theopolitical character of the Church of Sweden enacted and negotiated in diaconal and liturgical practices in two congregations in deprived areas, and what insights does a theological analysis of these practices offer for a constructive understanding of the church's political identity and role? The thesis understands politics not primarily in terms of statecraft, but as the practices through which a common life is forged, shaped, and sustained. Methodologically, the study is a theological-ethnographic single-case study based on participant observation, shadowing, and semi-structured qualitative interviews. Practice theory is employed within an overarching ecclesiological framework, and the analysis proceeds through three movements: articulation, disturbance, and expansion. The study shows that the church's theopolitical character is enacted through roles and relationships constituted in diaconal and liturgical practices. Through these practices, the church appears as a provider of care and support, facilitator of trust, collaborative partner in the wider society, and a liturgical community in which social relationships are renegotiated. At the same time, these practices are marked by tensions of asymmetry, individualisation, segregation, and the reduction of difference to sameness. To deepen this analysis, the thesis develops the concept of iconic relationships, understood as relationships in which the meaning of the other is not fixed in advance but remains open and inexhaustible in the light of God's presence. The thesis concludes that the church's betrayal of politics occurs not primarily when it fails to enter public debate, but when it loses this iconic frame of reference.