Swedes Trust IKEA More than the Church

[hunter]

What do Volvo, Ericsson, Saab and IKEA have in common? The people of Sweden have more faith in them than in the church.

Perhaps the news shouldn't come as much of a surprise, coming as it does from a country best known for its meatballs and the bright blue and yellow warehouses selling cheap and cheerful furniture around the globe. Still, preacher men the world over must be reeling. A new poll taken of Swedes indicates that more people trust IKEA than the church in the largely Protestant country.

According to the poll, taken by the business weekly Dagens Industri, 80 percent of Swedes said they had "much or very much trust" in the world's largest furniture store chain, which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad. But only 46 percent of the 800 people surveyed said they trusted the Swedish church, which counts 80 percent of the 9 million residents living in Sweden as members.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,450254,00.html

Things don't look good for Christianity in many parts of Europe...

[beam me up scottie]

1. I didn't think Sweden was so overwhelmingly christian.

Very unlike most European countries.

[JI7]

3. this german guy said they register what their religion is in GErmany

but that his family wasn't religious. it might just be tradition . but in practice or even belief it doesn't mean much to them.

[beam me up scottie]

6. That sounds a lot like the UK.

They might count everyone who was baptized as a baby, too, even if they never went back.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. They did until 1996

Today about 78% of Swedes belong to the Church of Sweden, but the number is decreasing by about one per cent every year, and Church of Sweden services are sparsely attended (hovering in the single digit percentages of the population).(14) The reason for the large number of inactive members is that until 1996, all children became members automatically at birth, if at least one of their parents were a member. Since 1996, all children that are baptised become members.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden

(Assuming the reference to a Swedish document is accurate)

[Maraya1969]

2. Let's just hope this is a wake up call to these churches. I had a lot of fun

in the Church I went to as a kid. We had all sorts of activities like crafts and camp and singing. And this church was not into the guilt thing. Later on I got sucked into one of those "other" ones and was traumatized by it. There are good churches but they aren't easily seen in the shadow of all rotten ones.

[NMMNG]

4. Maybe IKEA follows through on its promises more,

and it most certainly doesn't threaten hell and damnation.

[Kutjara]

8. And with Ikea...

...you actually come out of the place with something real that you can look at and touch, not just a bunch of fairy stories and feel-good brainwashing.

[JVS]

24. Knowing the Church of Sweden, Ikea is probably more doctrinally rigid...

and more likely to threaten hell and damnation.

[charlie]

5. Norway just voted to disentangle its Church from government

It's interesting that the initiative is from the church leaders, who see secular gov't as desirable. Wish our megachurch loudmouths had such wisdom.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/22/europe/EU_REL_Norway_State_Church.php

Since it requires approval from 2 consecutive Parliaments to change the constitution, it won't happen for a while, if ever, but this is a momentous step. Norway has had a state religion for centuries.

[beam me up scottie]

7. damn secular fundamentalists...

[charlie]

9. It's dismaying

to watch adults across the pond act like adults, while we fight an inane Battle Over Christmas year after year. We're like a nation of sugar-fueled ADHD kiddies.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Like the hue and cry over Elton John's opinion about religion?

I don't think anyone over there even noticed.

Here, though, even on DU he's accused of hate speech.

You'd think he said christians were an abomination and should be stoned to death or something instead of just wishing he could ban religion.

Good thing John Lennon's already dead or they'd be after him too.

Imagine there's no heaven...

[charlie]

13. It was pretty intemperant

But y'know, stuff me in a closet and try to legislate me out of existence, and I guess I'd also have some strong opinions when I finally busted out. Still though, the reaction was way outsized. What the hey, it's Rupert Murdoch's world, we just live in it.

Meanwhile, around the same time, liberal darling Jim Wallis penned an article declaring the recent election a defeat for the Religious Right... AND the Secular Left. Us SecLefts were crushed because the Mighty Moral Center is interested in issues beyond homo-hating and baby-killing. Like Iraq. Like poverty. Family. Environment.

Imagine that.

http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/2006/11/jim-wallis-defeat-for-religious-right.html

[beam me up scottie]

14. Right.

More God and less secularism.

Message received.

I managed to not gloat at work in the days following the election.

It was a Herculean effort.

[charlie]

16. Yeah

I noticed the one guy who took all those Democrats-need-more-religion missives to heart and amped his Man-o-Godness to 11 enjoyed a spectacular win. I'm really looking forward to seeing Harold Ford sworn in next year.

Wait...

[beam me up scottie]

17. The fucking "talk" radio jocks are still yammering on about that.

They play a Nashville station over the PA and I have to suffer through the "morning show" hate fest every weekday.

That's why I bring my mp3 player with me.

[Hardrada]

15. Oh. ja, I know.

Norske Maenigheder i Norge i tusend Aar.

[charlie]

18. I ran that through a Norwegian to English translator

and got this:

Norwegian Maenigheder in Norway in thousandth Aar

then English to Portuguese:

Norueguesa Maenigheder em Noruega em milésimo Aar

then Portuguese to German:

Norweger Maenigheder wohlauf hinein Norwegen wohlauf hinein tausendst- Aar

then German to English:

Norwegian Maenigheder well into Norway well into thousandth Aar

and lookit that, it comes out virtually the same, instead of funny gibberish. Norwegian is indestructible! :D

[Hardrada]

19. Like the country itself.

I plan to visit the old home fjord soon (if they still take $$ there). Expensive land. Uff da!

[charlie]

20. I used to moderate a board

for a friend I met online, a fellow from Tromsoe. I'd look up pictures of his hometown and would just ache because the lucky bastard lived in an otherworldly fairytale land. I miss living overseas, the US is so utilitarian and dull:

[shrike]

28. I really liked Norway myself

Nice people, cool place.

[hunter]

31. Gorgeous pictures.

From what I gather the attitudes towards religion are quite similar in Norway and Sweden.

Religion is kept out of respect for history more than anything else.

[shrike]

27. Good for them

I'm a Christian who wants a wholly secular government, for practical reasons. The world is so polygot, so many different faiths and non-faiths living together in one place, that it makes sense to keep religion out of government.
Faith still means a lot to a good deal of people, and can be practiced within church community and family. Which is fine with me.

[wtmusic]

11. God doesn't offer cool minimalist furniture at 60% off

and until He does, I'm sticking with Ikea

[Evoman]

12. I have a friend who's daughter married a Swedish man.

Shes been there about 20 times to visit her daughter and son in law. She swears that everybody she knows there is very interested in science and the work she does. She says that many people there are really atheists who just "belong to the church" out of tradition. She thinks the place is amazing.

But my friend is a no good atheist who would probably be the kind of person who'd love to live in a socialist hell hole. :evilgrin:

[shrike]

30. You know, it's a pity

I'm a believer who's fascinated by science (though I was raised not to take the bible literally -- Catholic) and I've met nuns, priests, and monks who were also scientists of one stripe or another. It's not unknown for clergy in Europe to also pursue the sciences. It really is a pity what fundamentalism has done.

[and-justice-for-all]

21. Sweden has the largest Atheist population on the planet...

Europe has NO interest in returing back to the Dark Ages. My German friend said that people are alot more intelligent about their religion in Germany, he can work with the choirs in Churches and not buy into the dogma bullshit.

Europe does not have the fundamentlist idiot problem like we do here and I dont know what the hell the religious nuts in the states are thinkin' they are not going to get Europe to return back to the church. They have been there, dont that and they are not going back.

The Church WILL NEVER have its claws in that society like they once did.

isnt odd, the largest Atheist country on the planet is also the most progressive and environmentally sane? They dont have Gun problems either or the slew of other problems that the States have. Scandinavia and Europe are so far ahead of the States its rediculous, you would think that the old world would be the most backwards, but no..it has to be the States thats ass backwards.

[moggie]

22. Sorry, I don't understand this

IKEA is a church. My local branch is packed every Sunday. I was there myself this Sunday, praying for a short queue at the checkouts: miraculously, my prayer was answered.

[Ian David]

23. Maybe they should make communion wine out of lingenberries? n/t

[kwassa]

25. IKEA makes me sore

We just put up this five-unit, floor-to-ceiling Bonde bookcases this weekend. After the first two, we went out and bought electric screwdrivers. One unit have a total of about 80 screws, after doors and drawers.

Between that, and all the leaf raking, I'm sore as can be.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. IKEA give you the key to life with every purchase

(an Allen key, that is :D )